


Bitter Reunions and Sweet Introductions

by DameoftheDark



Series: Dani Phantom [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: AU where danny sam and tucker are the opposite gender, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 18:44:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DameoftheDark/pseuds/DameoftheDark
Summary: Dani Fenton has had her ghost powers for six months, and she still can't control them. Her friends Sam (the resident goth boy) and Tucker (the geeky computer girl of Casper High) are there to provide comfort, but in the end Dani's powers cause her to fall behind in school, as well as break her curfew. Jazz attributes this to the usual adolescent issues of uncertainty, and prompts Jack and Maddie to talk to Dani more. Thus, Jack decides the best way to relate to his youngest is to pack up the car and drive to Wisconsin for the college reunion his old pal is hosting. This is where Dani meets the eccentric billionaire Vlad Masters, who has plenty of secrets himself. Dani finds herself enamored with the older man, and he is quite taken with her as well. And this, this is only the beginning.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction, so constructive criticism is welcome. Also, this is the first story in my series Dani Phantom, which is inspired by gender bent art of Danny, Tucker, and Sam, as well as an unfinished story called The Things I Could Show You. Given that, Danny (or Dani) is age 16 instead of 14, and this is basically a retelling of the TV show.

//// _Young Dani Fenton, she was just 16 when her parents built a very strange machine. It was designed to view a world unseen (she’s gonna catch ‘em all ‘cause she’s Dani Phantom). When it didn’t quite work her folks they just quit then Dani took a look inside of it. There was a great big flash, everything just changed. Her molecules got all rearranged (phantom phantom)! When she first woke up she had realized she had snow white hair and glowin’ green eyes, she could walk through walls, disappear, and fly. She was much more unique than the other guys! It was then Dani knew what she had to do, she had to stop all the ghosts that were coming through. She’s here to fight, for me and you! (She’s gonna catch ‘em all ‘cause she’s Dani Phantom. Gonna catch ‘em all ‘cause she’s Dani Phantom. Gonna catch ‘em all ‘cause she’s Dani Phantom. Gonna catch ‘em all ‘cause she’s DANI PHANTOM_.////

 

When Dani first received her ghost powers, she would never have guessed how the following 6 months were going to go. There was no way she could have predicted the strange ghost battles or the freaky foes she was going to face. In the beginning, the only thing she was concerned about was keeping my new powers under control long enough to have a normal, albeit bully-redden, high school experience. She had no idea that she would have to juggle that along with the life of a super hero.

It wasn’t not much of a stretch to say that she was disliked at school. In fact, her unpopularity is never up for debate. Despite this, Sam and Tucker were always at her side, making the whole thing bearable. Because of this, she knew she could trust them with her new otherworldly secret. Besides, who else was she supposed to go to, her parents? Parents ever listen to their kids anyway.  

Dani had another, far better reason for why she wouldn’t tell them, however. Both her parents were renowned ghost hunters and inventors. She wasn’t sure how they would react if she told them about my powers. Heck, she still wasn’t.  

Tucker tried to convince Dani to tell Jazz, but she quickly shot that idea down. Jazz was not much different from their parents, understanding-wise. Though only a couple years older than her, Jazz might as well have been a fully-grown adult. She was so disconnected from other teenagers, and acted like an irritating know-it-all, according to Dani. She is so sure that ghosts weren’t real, and did everything she could to shift the conversation when their parents inevitably brought the subject yup. _There’s no way she could understand my situation at all_ , Dani once thought.  

Luckily Sam and Tucker were great secret keepers. Dani had no idea what she would have done if she couldn’t tell anybody about her powers. Tucker, she had known, since kindergarten, and they shared everything. The two met Sam in middle school, and he always kept to himself. But Tucker and Dani thought he looked lonely, so they sat with him at lunch one day. He tried to appear tough and unapproachable, but they persisted. Tucker thought his all-black attire was intriguing, while Dani was just interested in making a new friend. After several weeks of Sam pretending not to know them, and the two, quote unquote “bothering” him, he caved, and they have been friends ever since.

Now juniors in high school, they stuck together like Harry Potter glasses on a nerd. Sam’s attire hadn’t changed much; still all black, although he would grace his outfits with the presence of pops of color. Today his black slacks (the ones embellished with three strips of leather with silver studs embedded in them) were accompanied by a purple belt with a dark grey skull belt buckle. His combat boots had purple n’ black pinstriped laces, and on his wrist sat a bracelet that matched the belt buckle. Sam’s trademark fishnet top remained the same, along with a black blazer. On the back was a large purple cartoon bat; a grumpy looking one, with text underneath it saying “ _Not A Morning Person_ ” _._

Tucker’s wardrobe hadn’t gone under any major changes either. She’s rather proud of the geek aesthetic, with her red beanie, glasses, plain yellow blouse, green cargo shorts, and brown hiker boots. However, since high school required a bit of risk taking, she had decided to wear a necklace that spelled out “ _GEEK_ ” in cheap aluminum letters.

Dani on the other hand, liked to keep it simple. T-shirts, jeans, denim shorts, a couple skirts (and yes, ONLY a couple), and her vans occupied her dresser and closet. This morning I decided to go with my favorite pair of blue jeans. The plan was to match them with her favorite T-shirt, but she forgot to do her laundry over the weekend, so instead she put on her second favorite shirt; a white T that says “ _Too Dumb For New York, Too Ugly for L.A._ ” She finished the look off with red vans and matching red hair clips.

The rush over to school was the usual; missed the bus, ran, tripped a block away from the building, lost grip of bag, lost essential papers from said bag to the fury of the morning wind, scrambled to pick up what she could, ran again in order to make it to class on time. In the end, Mr. Lancer had words, plenty of them in fact. But the ones she got from the barrage of syllables were “carelessness”, “hopeless”, and “detention”. Of course this was all delivered to Dani at the start of class (with the exception of “detention”, that was reserved for after class), so all her favorite tormentors heard it. Dash laughed, Kwan commented, and Paulina sneered. After class however, Sam and Tucker tried to encourage her as best they could.

“Really dude, it could have been way worse. At least it’s only detention.”

“Only detention? That’s like saying ‘its only prison’ or ‘it’s only watching your little cousin for seven hours while they are in the middle to teething’, Tucker.”

“Now Sam, this is about, Dani, not you”, Tucker replied playfully.

“Whatever, look Dani, if you want us to stay on campus till you’re done, we can.”

Dani shook her head. “It’s not the detention thing I care about. I’m just sick of Paulina and the others always picking on me! Don’t they have pimples to worry about, or people to date?”

Tucker shifted on the outdoor bench she was sitting on to better face her friend. “Are you kidding? Paulina’s skin is flawless, and I’m pretty sure acne is too afraid of Dash and Kwan to take up residence on their faces.”

Dani let her head hit the table. “But still, why do they pick on me on the time? It’s not like I did anything to them. I mean, they’ve been doing this since freshman year, and I figured sooner or later they would get bored, but they haven’t! I just don’t get it.”

“It’s because they think they’re better than everyone else, Dani. They’ve got the money, the style, the talent. They think they’re special,” Sam said with a hint of bitterness.

Dani rolled her head to look at Sam. He and Tucker were also subjects to bullying. Like Dani, they were considered outcasts, unpopular dweebs with no hope of success until adulthood when they would dominate the working world, leaving their former abusers to work for them. But those years were a long way away. For now they were in a same boat, struggling to make as much as we could out of these years that were supposed to be “the best years of their lives”.  

“I’m sorry guys, I bet I sound really whiny, huh?”

“Kind of, but its not unwarranted,” Tucker answered nonchalantly.

The school bell rang, reminding the three that lunch was a freedom with a time limit. As they trekked back into the halls of Casper High Dani felt a very familiar sensation. A cold whisp of air flew from her mouth, causing her to stop in her tracks.

_You have GOT to the kidding me? Now?!_

She turned around and saw a green transparent figure sore into the building, emitting an echoing laugh. She raced passed the trio and students began to scream and run in every direction. Sam and Tucker turned to Dani with knowing looks.

“Time to get going, Dani!” Sam said determined.

“Oh I’ll be going alright, I’m going ghost!” she shouted.

Dani rushed into the nearby broom closet. After slamming the door behind her, the girl stood up straight and thrusted her arms into the air. White rings appeared around her midsection, and within a few seconds her long black hair turned white, and her outfit replaced with a black n’ white jumpsuit with white boots. My eyes turned from their natural blue to an ectoplasmic green, completing the transformation. She flew out of the closet like a rocket, no doubt ruining Sam’s carefully gelled hair. In no time flat she reached the ghostly intruder. She turned to Dani and cocked her head to the side, confusion visible in her features.

“Oh, dear me, it seems you’re still haunting this school, child?” she asked in a gentle tone.

“Uh, maybe because I go here, Lunch Lady.”

Her eyes flashed red and her previous expression turned fierce.

“Well, that should serve me just fine, after all it was you who tried to stop me from fixing what that other child disrupted!”

“Look, no one was happy with Sam’s menu, O.K.? Besides, its gone back to normal now, so why do you just go on back to the Ghost Zone before someone gets hurt?”

“I think not! I still have business with this school; with YOU.”

The Lunch Lady’s hands emitted a green light, and suddenly meat and other food items began to fly around ever corner. They met with her, and her body grew until her head touched the ceiling. She roared, sending a wave of steaks in Dani’s direction. The girl dodged without issue, wheeving and turning to avoid the greasy projectiles. Then she accelerated, bringing her fist back in an attempt to land a swift punch to The Lunch Lady’s face. However, as she neared, a column of ham and rib hurdled toward her, launched from the ghost’s mouth. It hit Dani square in her front, and she went down, hitting the floor with a grunt. She held up my arms to protect me from more airborne meat. At the last minute, Dani turned intangible and the meat fell all around her.

When she opened her eyes, she looked around, and grinned.

“Hey, I think I’m starting to get the hang of this,” she chirped.  

Another roar. Clearly annoyed, the Lunch Lady sent another wave of protein at the young heroine. Dani flew through the floor and rose up behind her opponent. Then she hit her in the back with a powerful kick. The Lunch Lady hit the floor with a resounding THUD. Her recovery was fast though; she whipped around and delivered yet another meat wave. As the girl dodged, she heard footsteps coming around the corner.

“Dani! We got the thermos!”

Dani looked over her shoulder to see Sam waving the Fenton Thermos above his head. Tucker followed, looking out of breath. Dani reached her hand out, only for it, along with her whole body, to be sent to the ground by an overbearing meat-hand. The Lunch Lady loomed over her and laughed.

“Oh crud! Dani!” Tucker shouts.

“Dani!”

“You won’t succeed this time, child!” the Lunch Lady started. “You’re still skin and bone, not strong enough, whereas I spent forced time in The Ghost Zone building up my strength. This is why you need meat! To become stronger!”

“’Cept I don’t think protein is going to help me build up ghostly muscle mass,” Dani muttered.

She strained to get the ghost’s overgrown hand off her, only to feel The Lunch Lady apply more pressure.

“To change the menu is to change the very fabric of order itself. It is order! Changing it creates chaos, upsets what has been established years and years ago! It cannot simply go back to normal! If it is changed once, it’s easy for it to be changed again. And YOU allowed it to happen!”

“What if we promise to never change it ever, ever again?” Tucker proposed with a pleading smile.

“Establishments are meant to be broken!” Sam declared.

The Lunch Lady roared yet again and glared at Sam.

_Now’s my chance!_

Dani went intangible again and sank into the floor.

“You will pay for your perversion; your MOCKERY of the school menu!” The Lunch Lady boomed.

“Geez, does no one appreciate a little individuality?!”

“Not when that ‘individuality’ takes away hotdog Thursdays, Sam,” Tucker responded.

 Out from the ceiling above the Lunch Lady popped Dani Phantom, who landed a punch into the top of The Lunch Lady’s head. The impact caused the body to fall apart; meat went everywhere, slamming into the lockers and hallway doors. The Lunch Lady sat in in the middle of the pile con carne, looking dazed. Dani hovered just a couple feet away, then turned to her friends.

“Sam!”

Dani reached her arm out again in his direction. He tossed her the thermos, and once she caught it she turned back to The Lunch Lady.

“Things change all the time, so a school menu should be no exception. Maybe you should look into a change of gimmick yourself, doncha think?” The girl said with a grin.

The Lunch Lady’s eyes no longer appeared dazed and confused. “But child, the menu is sacred, created to suit the nutritional needs of students. It has been the same for 50 years---”

“Its back to normal again, and you should follow suit. You say change causes chaos, well look at what you’ve done! You come here, twice, and everyone in the school is hiding, afraid for their lives. If you like order so much, you should go back so it can be restored!” Dani proclaimed. 

She opened the thermos, and with a merciless suction, the Lunch Lady is pulled in.  

The girl landed on the floor and capped the thermos. Sam and Tucker rushed over, and Dani smiled as they stopped in front of her.

_At least they’re safe._

Sam looked around, his face morphing into a disgusted visage. Tucker, however, fell to her knees.

“Look at it all! What a horrible waste of delicious, scrumptious meat!”

She picked up a turkey leg and gazed at it forlornly. Sam rolled his eyes and Dani giggled. Suddenly, the sound of many footsteps echoed throughout the hall. Only these are the opposite of supernatural. With a squeak Dani quickly turned invisible and flew overhead. Students started poring out from classrooms, bathrooms, and a nerd even fell out of a locker. A few faculty members, including Mr. Lancer, rounded the corner and approached the meaty mess. Mr. Lancer’s gaze landed on it, and his eyes went wide in response.

“Wuthering Heights! Who is responsible for this mess?!”

Just then, Dash emerged from a classroom, and pointed at Tucker and Sam. “They did it! They must have! Those twerps where around the last time it happened, remember? Can’t be a coincidence!”

The hall filled with accusatory whispers.

Sam and Tucker looked at each other with concern visible in their features. Dani glared at Dash, knowing that he couldn’t see her, but nonetheless, she wanted to display her irritation.

_I can’t let them take the fall for this. They had nothing to do with it!_

The girl focused on Mr. Lancer, and then remembered something.

_There’s a power I got recently that allows me to take control of other people. Tucker calls it “over shadowing”, I think. Maybe if I try it on Mr. Lancer…_

Furrowing her brow, Dani flew straight into Mr. Lancer’s body. In an instant, she could see out of his eyes. She could feel the rising temperature with all the body heat of the students and other faculty. She could feel the strain on Mr. Lancer’s back from his very obvious gut; the ache of his muscles as they worked to keep him upright. The heaviness of his gut was foreign, and quite noticeable to Dani since she was actually underweight. And although the hall was warming up, she could feel a definite temperature difference at his head, reminding her of her English teacher’s baldness. In short; she felt everything around her as if she was in her own body.

With Mr. Lancer’s green eyes, Dani looked at her friends and then crossed his arms. “No, they didn’t do this. There’s no way two 16-year olds could have done this. But if your going to blame them, Dash---I mean---Mr. Baxter, then maybe you’re the one who actually did it.”

Dani turned Mr. Lancer’s head to look at Dash, and his face was absolutely priceless.

Keeping herself from laughing, Dani cleared Mr. Lancer’s throat into his fist, and then pointed a very dramatic finger in Dash’s direction. She announced that he must clean up the entire mess, and that his friends were going to help him. Paulina, Kwan, Valerie, and Star were horrified.

Losing her ability to hold back for much longer, Dani decided to exit Mr. Lancer, but not before turning back Sam and Tucker again.  

“Mr. Manson, Ms. Foley, could you tell Ms. Fenton that she will no longer need to come to detention after school? I’m afraid something really important came up so I’m just going to let her off.”     

“With a warning, right Mr. Lancer?” Sam asked knowingly.

“Yes! Yes, sure, we’ll go with that.”

The girl left Mr. Lancer, probably confused as all heck, and flew to an empty bathroom. The white rings returned, transforming her back to normal.

She opened the door, and saw Dash, Paulina, and the other popular kids getting to work, although reluctantly. She hid the Fenton Thermos behind her back and walked over to her friends. Sam winked and Tucker began to laugh. Together, the trio departed from the grease covered hall, leaving the rest of the school’s population to ponder the strangeness of Casper High’s SECOND meaty mystery.     

Classes resumed as normal, but a certain few had to miss. Once the school day came to an end Dani, Sam, and Tucker headed for the Nasty Burger. Tucker announced that she needed her meat fix now more than ever, and Dani hadn’t eaten much at lunch time anyway. They order, got our food, and sat in their signature spot; the booth that was furthest from the doors. Tucker got her usual; a double meaty melt with cheese, large fries, and a Pepsi. Sam ordered the veggie burger and a diet coke. Dani had decided to go with a single with small fries and a chocolate milkshake. Sam took his place against the wall, and Tucker slid in next to him. The girl sat on the other side, putting her bag in the empty seat facing the aisle.

Tucker wasted not time, going straight for her burger. Sam leaned away from her, squishing himself flush against the wall.

“Really Tucker, do you have to make those noises?”

Tucker turns to Sam and offered an innocent expression, followed by a swallow.

“What’s wrong Sam? Never see a girl enjoy actual food before?”

“No, I’ve just never seen a girl enjoy processed garbage passing as actual food before,” he stated with a glare.

“Guys come on, no fighting. We did a really good job today with the Lunch Lady. Plus, Paulina and the others are the ones cleaning up the mess. Why fight when we could celebrate some well earned pay back?”

Sam sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. That was a pretty sweet thing you did back there; taking over Lancer and shifting the blame.”

“Plus avoiding detention. Can you imagine all the awesome things you can do with these powers of yours? Frankly it’s kind of a waste that you’re only using them to fight ghosts,” Tucker said in between mouthfuls of fries.

“Oh no, don’t start putting ideas into her head! Dani can use these powers to do some real good,” Sam refuted.

Dani took a sip of her milkshake. The chill and chocolate slid down her throat in a sugary cascade. She let out a small moan, one quiet enough that only she could hear it. Then she looked back up at Sam and Tucker.

“Well, she does have a point Sam. With these powers, I can finally get back at those guys! I can get revenge for myself---I mean for us---and they would never even know it was me!”

“No way. I can’t believe your actually thinking about it! Those powers should be used to help others Dani, not yourself.”

The half ghost looked down at the table.

_Sam’s right. Though the thought of getting revenge on Paulina, Dash, and the others is pretty exciting, I would be no better than them if I stooped to their level. Besides, Amity Park has plenty of ghost issues to keep me occupied for years to come. I probably wouldn’t even have time to get back at them!_

Tucker gulped down a bit of her Pepsi and let out a very loud burp, bringing Dani back from her thoughts. They both laugh uncontrollably, and after a moment Sam joined in. No matter the disagreement, the three of them always seemed to come back together. So far, there haven’t been any issues that the trio couldn’t overcome. Most of their arguments tended to be between Sam and Tucker though, seeing as they are as different as night and day. Despite that though, they had plenty in common, and they saw the value in each other as people. Tucker could be rude, kinda gross, a computer geek, and an in-your-face meat lover, but Sam accepted her as she was. And Sam, being a loner type and a very outspoken ultra-recyclo-vegetarian goth, it was easy to see how he could get into a scrap with ANYONE, but regardless, Tucker supported his choice in diet (although not without a joke or two) and they ended up learning a lot from each other, just as Dani did.

The sun set behind the tall hills surrounding Amity Park, casting the whole town into twilight. It was usual for Sam, Tucker, and Dani to stay at the Nasty Burger until dusk, sometimes later, but this was a school night and they all had homework to do.

Dani looked at her watch; 5:32. Then she faced Tucker as they left the restaurant.

“Hey, study session at your place?”

“You know it!” Tucker beamed.

Sam threw his spider-shaped backpack over his shoulder and turned to the two girls as they walked down the street.

He grunted. “I’m afraid I can’t make it tonight. I have to watch my little cousin.”

“Oh, the teething one, right?” Tucker asked.

“Unfortunately.”

“Good luck with that, Sam,” Dani offered with a sympathetic smile.

Once they went their separate ways, Tucker and Dani made their way to the computer geek’s house. A modest place a few blocks away from the herione’s house, the two arrived and were welcomed by Tucker’s mom’s voice from the kitchen. After taking some freshly microwaved pizza roles Tucker and the half ghost went up to her room and began working on their homework.

They had all the same classes, which was really convenient for Dani. The girl had quite a difficulty in math, history, science; every subject, really, but Tucker was a whiz in pretty much all of them. She would help Dani when doing homework as well as test prep. Most of the time she got solid B’s, but since her ghost fighting escapades, Dani lost some much-needed study time. However, today seemed to be working in her favor, because her ghost sense didn’t go off once while at Tucker’s.

At 9:30, Dani took off and headed back to her place. The plan was to get in before curfew and get ready for bed. Even though her head was full of equations, dates, and the anatomies of various marine animals, she smiled excitedly.

“Finally! One day when I don’t have any ghost detours to make me miss my 10 o’clock curfew,” The girl stated with glee.

Another problem that had arisen since her fighting ghosts was that it had been near impossible to get home before 10 o’clock. Her parents had stressed the importance of curfew lately, which only served to complicate matters.

_It’s not like I’m coming home late on purpose. But what am I supposed to tell them? That I’m fighting ghosts now with my new ghost powers that I got when I stupidly went into the portal 6 months ago? Honestly, I’d rather get yelled at._

As she jogged down the sidewalk, she witnessed her house come into view. The green neon sign reading “ _Fenton Works_ ” practically lit up the whole block.

Then she looked down at her watch again. 9:45.

_For once, I’m going to get home early!_

Then she felt it.

Her ghost sense went off. When she stopped, she saw three green vultures dive in and out of homes, followed by screaming. Dejected, she ran behind a car, and transformed. Dani took off after the birds, and in no time, she was next to them. Flying a bit closer to them she noted their strange appearances. Though they looked the same, they each wore a different fez and one of them had sun glasses.

 _Interesting_. _Not what I would have gone with, but to each their own, I guess. Since when did ghosts need shades?_

“You fellows look lose, uh any chance of you staying that way?” the girl asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

            The one closest to Dani spoke up for them all; “Mind your own business, fancy pants ghost girl.”

Suddenly they dove into a passing bus, so Dani followed. Luckily, the bus was empty. She landed on both feet and glanced back and forth between the spectral creatures.

“We’ve been circling this town for hours. We could have been half way to Florida by now. Ask for directions!” Sun glasses croaked.

“I know where I’m going,” the apparent leader bit back.

“You so do not, ask her,” the third said, pointing a wing at Dani.

“Ask me what?”

The birds took flight once again, and just as before Dani followed. They flew high into the air, only to stop upon seeing their pursuer.

The leader signed and started toward the half ghost.

“We are on a search and destroy mission. Can you help us find and peck to death, this guy here,” he says while pulling out a small scrap of paper from under his wing.

Dani narrowed her eyes to get a better look at the image. Then rose an eyebrow when she saw the person smiling back at her.

“Dad?!”

“Ah see I told you she’d know where he is,” Sun glasses chirped.

Dani attacked with an ectoplasmic blast, but the birds dodged. The leader told them to respond in kind, prompting the other two to sail toward the young girl.

All three started to circle Dani, but she just smirked at them.

“Keep it up guys, I’m a whiz at dodge ball!” she announced.

Then Dani lead two of them to fly into each other, cracked a witty retort, and coasted away with them at her heels. However, once her eyes found a clock a few yards away, a sense of urgency consumed the young half ghost.

9:57.

_Not again! It’s almost ten!_

She flew into the clock, went invisible, and snuck up behind the vultures. Jumping out from the clock face, Dani revealed herself by grabbing the leader by the legs. He let out a yelp, and she tossed him toward his buddies.

“You know that saying about a bird in the hand? Well neither do I! And don’t go messing up any windshields on our way out of town!”

The tiny scrap fell to Dani, and she caught it in her white-clad hands. She cocked her head and stared at her dad, who is obviously much younger in the photo. His hair was longer and there were no visible signs of aging. The scrap looked torn, like it’s from a larger picture.

_If those ghosts were sent to hurt my dad, then its obvious that he has an enemy. But someone as nice as my dad? My dad, who doesn’t have a mean bone in his body? My dad, who has nothing negative to say about anybody? It doesn’t make any sense. Why would someone try to waste him?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the chiming of the clock behind her.

_Oh no. DAD._

Dani soared home as quickly as she could, landing just a couple feet away once she reached her block. Behind the security of a car, she transformed back, and casually walked over and up the front steps. Carefully, she open the front door, only to come face to face with the scowling mugs of her parents. Jack’s arms were crossed and Maddie’s hands were at her hips.

“You’re late again, young lady,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh crud,” The girl muttered.

“Take a seat Dani, we need to discuss this,” Maddie stated, while directing her daughter to the couch.

Doing as she was told, Dani sat down, and then noticed Jazz in the adjacent chair, reading a child psychology book. In the middle of the room sat another one of their father’s ghost hunting inventions, though this one she hadn’t seen before. Jack went back to working on it while Maddie took center stage; watching Dani with serious eyes.

The blue-clad mother of two let her hands find her hips again.

“Dani, this is becoming a problem. You’re constantly coming home,” she began.

“You’re shirking from your chores,” Jack interrupted.

“Your grades are slipping,” she continued.

“You’re shirking from your chores,” Jack interrupted again.

Sheepishly, Dani looked toward her dad. “You already said chores,” she commented.

He returned his daughter’s gaze from behind the contraption; his harsh eyebrows folded down into a frown.

“I know but when you don’t do them I get stuck with them.”

“Look, I’m under a lot of pressure, You two don’t have any idea what it’s like to be a kid today!”

Maddie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

“Come on Dani, that the oldest excuse in the book. There’s nothing your going through that your father and I didn’t go through when we were your age.”

As she spoke, Dani’s arm suddenly went intangible and fell through the arm of the couch. She panicked, pulled it out, and luckily it changed back in time before anyone noticed. The girl muttered under her breath, and then heard Jazz chime in from her spot in the living room.

“The reason Dani doesn’t think you can relate to her is because you never take the time to tell her anything about your childhood. Like where you first met, where you had your first date, or where you went to college.”

Dani glared at Jazz, but she didn’t take any notice.

  _Of course she had to give her input. Once again, Jazz completely misses the mark. I can admit that she is probably a genius, but when it comes to me and other teenagers, she is so lost a map wouldn’t even help her out of her own head. She’ll be heading off to college next year, and I can’t wait for when I won’t have to hear referencing my “odd behavior” as evidence that I’m another victim of adolescence’s strong hold on reason and hormones._

At that thought, Dani rolled her eyes, only to catch her dad’s face form a wide smile.

_Oh no, what’s he thinking?_

“You know Jasmine, that’s a great idea.”

“It is?” Jazz questioned.

“What is?” Maddie asked.

“This is! You can come with me and your mother to our college reunion!” he declared, presenting the formal invitation in the air.

Dumbfounded, Dani could only muster the syllables necessary to make a pitiful remark. “I…can…?”

“Wisconsin?!” Jazz responded in astonishment.

“Sure! My old pal Vlad is holding a huge shindig there. We’ll take the RV so the whole family can go together. On the way you can hear more about your mother’s and my college days and as we drive, I can blather on about ghosts!”

Suddenly the device kicked to life; it shook, rattled, and one of its loose pipes flew up and launched ectoplasmic goo at Jazz’s face. Normally Dani would have burst out laughing, but she was too concerned over this spontaneous family trip. Wisconsin is well over a day’s drive from Amity Park, which meant this will mostly likely be a weekend thing.

 _I was hoping I could spend some quality, non-ghost hunting time with my friends and maybe get some extra studying done before the next test. However, with this abrupt change in plans, Sam, Tucker, and I will have to fit in some extra extra studying during the week, along with our usual homework_.

Dani slumped against the couch and looked down at her shirt. Even through her preoccupied mind she still heard Jack’s cheers for his latest feet of engineering.

“Ha ha it works! I can’t wait to blather on about that, too!”


	2. Chapter 2

“Dani, Dani sweetie wake up, we’re getting breakfast.”

The young girl opened her sand filled eyes to see her mom’s silhouette leaning over her. Blinking the gunk away she stretched and allowed the blur to fade from her vision. Maddie offered a smile and turned to Jack, who then left the RV together. A yawn escaped Dani’s mouth, when she feet herself sinking. The girl’s gaze shot down to her torso, only to see half of it vanishing into her cot. With a yelp she pulled her skinny form out and fell rather ungracefully unto the metal floor. Tangible again, Dani looked up and noticed that she was alone.

_Thank goodness!_

The Fentons had been on the road all day the day before. It was clear that Jazz was annoyed with Dani, seeing as she kept sending her sister death glares. _Those looks could intimidate Skulker_ , Dani had thought to herself. Jazz told her younger sister that she would get payback, and then barely mentioned another word to her. That was fine with Dani though, for she was far too worried about accidentally revealing her powers in front of her parents. At first, the heroine was more concerned about falling behind in school over the weekend, but Sam had told her she should just take her school bag with her; that way she could study at Vlad Masters’ house.

_The reunion is supposed to go all weekend, so I should have plenty of time. But now, with my powers on the fritz, how can I stay calm? What if I lose control during the reunion? I don’t think I could bear the embarrassment, or frankly, the horror, of falling through the floor or going invisible right in the middle of a conversation. What if my parents see and decide having one daughter is O.K. with them? Or if they see my powers as an opportunity to dissect me to find out more about ghosts?_

Dani shook her head.

_No way. My parents love me. They would never do such a thing. Mom and dad can be a bit **extreme** sometimes, but at the end of the day they love Jazz and me, and they do what they do to not only satisfy their curiosities, but also to protect us, protect Amity Park. If they found out, they would try to help me, wouldn’t they? Like they always have? _

She picked herself up and exited the RV. Surrounding Dani were large delivery trucks. Ones that were no doubt traveling across the country to deliver all kinds of items like clothes and furniture. She cocked her head when her eyes landed on a logo of one of the trucks. On the ivory body sat an aqua rocket ship, blasting off, leaving a thin trail of the same color behind it.

Smiling, Dani walked closer to the truck. Though the rocket looked more like a cartoon drawing, she could just hear the engines, the roar of the exhaust is it flies high into the stratosphere. She could see it soaring past the Earth, high above, then drifting through the star-littered void of space.

Opening her eyes, having realized she’d closed them, Dani turned to the small building to her left. A diner with a red and white neon sign reading _Pancake Manor_ loomed over the dipped parking lot. Then she caught Jack in her gaze. Dani jogged over to him, awkwardly scratching the back of my head as she approached.

“Sorry, just admiring the big trucks.”

“Ah that’s O.K. Dani. You ready to eat?”

“Totally!”

Dani followed her dad into the restaurant. The interior looked like it hadn’t changed since the 1960s. The floors were black n’ white checkered, the ceiling whitewashed. The booths had rounded rectangular tables coupled with plush red seating. The bar was similar to the booths, only with red cushions on the stools and a red n’ white tile on the foundation of the bar.

Jack led Dani to the third booth from the front doors, where Jazz and Maddie sat. Jack slid in next to Maddie, and Dani hesitated, looked at Jazz, and then to the open seat. After huffing, the girl sat down. She grabbed the menu in front of her and busied herself with its contents. It was the standard stuff; breakfast items like pancakes and flapjacks, eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns. Glancing over at the drinks section Dani spotted the milkshake list. Her baby blue eyes widen as she read just how many flavors they had.

_I’ve never seen so make types of chocolate shakes! Plus, the vanilla, strawberry, banana, and Oreo ones._

Dani peered over the top of her menu. Maddie was looking over her own, and then she caught her daughter in her line of sight. Putting her menu down, she asked: “What is it, Dani?”

“Mom, can I get a milkshake? Please??” Dani pleaded with a wide smile.

She raised and eyebrow. “Dani, you know the rules. No sweets in the morning.”

“Oh please mom! They have so many flavors here! When will we get the chance to come back here? I wanna at least try one. Please???” 

“No honey, I’m afraid not. Besides, you only get one dessert a week. Do you really want to waste it now?”

“Yeah Dani! Think of all the delicious sweets that V-man will have at the reunion party!” Jack chimed in.

Dani slumped in her seat. “Ah come one! You said parties and special occasions were not a part of that rule!”

“Dani, no. That’s final,” Maddie said firmly, flipping the menu back over her face.

Jack shot his youngest a sympathetic look, but Dani ignored it.

When the waiter came, the Fentons all ordered. Dani decided to get a short stack with extra syrup, earning a glare from Maddie. Jack ordered the same, but with a side of bacon and eggs. Jazz and Maddie ordered the same thing; omlettes with egg whites.

The food was much better than anything Dani had had before, and she was humming the whole time. Her parents talked about ghosts, much to Jazz’s disappointment, instead of their college days. Dani didn’t mind however, since she was pretty sure her parents’ “adventures” in college would probably weird her out too much.  Jazz, bless her heart, tried to change the subject, but her efforts went nowhere.

The rest of the morning was spent making their way to the stately home of Vlad Masters. Dani caught Jazz reading one of her genius magazines again, but the cover of this one caused the young girl to do a double take. The text sprawled across the thin cover read _Vlad Masters: Billionaire of the Year!_ Dani had no idea her dad was friends with such a loaded business mogul. He never mentioned him before, and she was sure if he had, she would have remembered the word “billionaire”.

_If he’s got money, then he’s definitely influential, and powerful. Dad could really benefit from having a friend like that; he could back my dad’s inventions and help him expand his practice of ghost hunting._

Then the girl remembered something, something from the night before.

Jack told her and Jazz that when they were in college, there was an accident. The end result was bad, really bad. Apparently, it was Vlad Masters who cut all ties with Jack, being enraged over the whole thing.

Now, Jack hoped that he had forgiven him, and if Dani was any judge, the invitation said it all.

_If they were really that close in college, then I hope they can mend their relationship, so they can be close again._

As Dani glanced out the window, an imposing structure came into view; a large and sort of creepy castle sat just yards away. At four stories high it blanketed the front driveway in darkness, shading it from the early afternoon sun.

 _Sam would be foaming at the mouth_. _Look at this place!_

The family pulled up and screeched to a halt just at the front steps. Jack jumped out from the driver’s seat, completely forgetting to close to car door. Maddie rolled her eyes, but smiled. Then she turned to her daughters.

“Alright, we’re here!”

Jazz put her magazine down and took no time getting out. Dani followed, and as soon as she stepped outside she felt a gentle breeze caress her face. The young heroine took in a deep breath, and then released said breath, allowing her bottom lip to jet out a bit. Despite the calm of a warm mid-autumn day, Dani still felt concerned about her powers. However, on the way over, she noticed that as long as she didn’t obsess over it, then nothing happened.  

 _I think I have better control over them now! At least I hope._  

Maddie gathered the bags as Jack waited impatiently at her side. Dani couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

“Come on Maddie. Can’t keep Vladdie waiting.”

“Just hold on a sec, Jack. I know you’re excited, I am too. But we need to make sure we don’t leave anything in the RV.”

“It’s not like anyone’s gonna steal anything, Maddie,” Jack pouted.

Maddie sighed but continued. Suddenly, Jack grabbed all the bags he could (which was a good number of them) and set them on the paved ground. He grasped another armful, taking the rest of the bags and setting them next to the others. Maddie blinked rapidly, and let out a sigh from her nose. Looking at Dani, she said: “Dani come get your stuff please, same with you Jazz.”

“Sure mom,” Jazz complied.

Now with bags in hand, the Fentons stumbled up the stairs to the front door. Dani dropped her bags, then slung her back pack over my shoulder. Unexpectedly, the lofty double doors opened with an eerie groan. A shadow-cloaked figure strode outside, only to be illuminated by what little light made its way over the castle walls. He was tall; definitely taller than Jack by a couple inches. His hair reminded Dani of silver threads; falling down his neck like a beautifully woven tapestry. Even though its pulled back into a low pony tail, it appeared as if it were cascading down like a waterfall. His broad form was accentuated quite well under a fitted black suit, which was buttoned across the torso. His shoes were also very expensive looking; gleaming with a dignified shine. At his collar sat a thin red cravat, probably made of the finest silk.

The young heroine looked into his eyes and found them to be a dark shade of blue. Though his gaze did not meet hers, Dani could feel the power behind it. Indeed, it was a stare that commanded respect. He stood with his arms behind is back, omitting an aura of authority; one oozing with gravitas. Despite this, he didn’t seem threatening at all, in Dani’s mind. Then he offered a smile and lifted an eyebrow.

“Jack. And Maddie! You’ve never looked lovelier my dear,” he stated, then directed the family inside with his long arm. “Please, please come in.”

Maddie, Jazz, and Dani walked inside with Jack following, who offered an energetic greeting, only for the doors to slam shut, cutting him off. Dani heard him from the other side, and chuckled to herself.

The foyer’s walls and floor were covered in green and gold. See-through cabinets on both sides of the hall displayed various Packers memorabilia; photos, helmets, post cards, cheese heads, jerseys. Looking a little further down the hall, Dani saw a football sitting on a lone pedestal.

_So, he’s a Packer’s fan. Huh._

Dani was never much into sports, let alone football. Although that was mostly due to Dash and his buddies ruining the sport for her. Looking up, she noticed even more green and gold paint on the very high ceiling.

_Scratch that. He’s **way** more than a fan. _

“What’s with the green and gold? You’re a billionaire. Surely you could afford an interior designer.”

Dani’s gaze shifted to Jazz.

_Seriously! Could she be anymore rude? Heck, I’m not even a sports fan but I wouldn’t say something like that. At least not in that way. In front of a billionaire. With very nice hair._

“Jazz, hello? Football helmets, jerseys, cheese heads? He’s a Packer’s fanatic,” she announced while crossing her arms and smirking.

Suddenly Dani felt something warm land on her head. Her eyes popped open to see Vlad Masters’ hand sitting atop her black hair. Dani felt her body stiffen. Her heartbeat skyrockets out of nowhere, hammering in her chest so loudly she was so sure everyone could hear it. Her stomach felt like it had been invaded by a butterfly swarm, and she felt her face going red.

“Oh ‘fanatic’ is such a negative word, but yes,” the billionaire replied. His hand seemed to drift down slightly, then left. For a moment, it was as if he was going to pet her hair. Strangely, Dani found herself wishing he had.

Jazz responded in a confused tone: “I don’t understand, you have billions of dollars. Instead of buying this stuff, why don’t you just buy the team?”

“Because the Packers are owned by the city of Green bay and they won’t sell them to me!” Vlad Masters pouted while crossing his arms. His eyes found Maddie, who was at his right. He opened his mouth but paused. His strong eyebrows furrowed, perhaps in contemplation. Then he casted those navy orbs down, then back up. At Dani.

The two locked eyes. The billionaire stood there, arms crossed, looking right at the young heroine, as if assessing her.

Dani’s knees started to tremble, and her heart, which had just started to calm down, began hammering again. Gulping, the teenager felt helpless, exposed. This man’s stare was just as powerful as she thought. No, it was even **more** commanding; demanding complete and total control over Dani’s senses. It was as if he could communicate his dominance without having to utter a single word.

His brow relaxed, yet he still maintained eye contact. His navys didn’t waver, despite the growing tension. Or maybe that was on Dani’s end? Then he lowered his head slightly, somehow increasing the depth of his already very consuming stare.

“I’d better let Jack in, huh Vlad?”

Vlad Masters finally looked away from his captive. His head turned to Maddie, and then over his broad shoulder in order to follow her. At the same time, Dani let out a breath, one loud enough for Jazz to hear. She looked at her sister questionably, but Dani took no notice.

_What the heck was all that just now? First that surge of adrenaline when he touched my head, and then that weird staring contest? Was I started at first? Yeah, I must have been. But, if that’s the case, then why did I feel disappointed when he took his hand away? And why am I suddenly so nervous anyway? I’m always just fine around strangers._

Dani shook her head slightly. None of it made any sense to her. Sure, he was tall, stylish, and very well groomed, had beautiful hair, imposing eyes, large warm hands, and a velvety voice, but that was no reason to get all excited.  

Then it hit her.

 _Oh no,_ she thought. _Please no._

Dani hugged myself. She so didn’t need this right now, what with her dicky ghost powers. The absolute LAST thing she needed (or wanted) was go ghost in front of Vlad Masters! Tonight, she was going to pray to the flying spaghetti monster that no ghosts appeared over the weekend.

Maddie opened the doors, and Jack came blundering in. When he saw Vlad Masters, his face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. He raced over to the businessman and pulled him into a great bearhug.

“V-man! It’s been way too long!”

“Yes yes, quite,” he offered in an curt tone.

“Well I’m sure there will be time to catch up later. We need to take our bags to our rooms,” Maddie said.

“Indeed! Of course, what sort of a host am I being? I’ll show you to your rooms. That is, of course, if Jack will **kindly** let me go?”

“Oh, sorry Vladdie!”

Jack set the tycoon down, who proceeded to brush himself off like he was covered in something gross.

Arms behind his back, he headed for the stairs, but not without giving Dani a passing glance. The girl looked down, avoiding those entrancing orbs. Vlad led the Fentons down the hall and up another flight of stairs. Reaching the third floor, Dani found a lonely hall welcoming them. Vlad turned left then, taking the family further into the immaculate and hollow hall. All the way, Jack blathered on and on about the old days. Since Dani walked behind everyone, she had no idea how the billionaire was reacting. But if his earlier attitude provided any clues, he was probably pretty incensed by now. 

_So much for forgiving Dad._

Vlad showed Jack and Maddie to a room in the center of the hallway. The couple went in to get set up for the weekend, and then the businessman turned to Jazz and Dani.

“Jasmine, your room is two doors down. And Danielle, yours is one door down from that. If you have any questions, please feel free to come to me. I know my castle is rather large, and I don’t want you to get lost. Let me know if you need help finding anything.”

“Thanks, Mr. Masters, we’ll remember that,” Jazz responded with a smile.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to attend to. Being the CEO of a major corporation can be incredibly time consuming. I hope you enjoy your stay, girls,” he said offering a smirk.

With that, he turned, and made his way back down the hall. Dani stayed put, watching him until he disappeared down the stairs. She fought a bizarre urge to follow him.

_Seriously, why did this have to happen now? This is just further proof that I’m not normal. Most girls my age are swooning over boy idols, hunky jocks, and bad boy types with motorcycles. Me? I’m currently wishing for the attention of an eccentric billionaire who’s old enough to be my FATHER. Sam’s always saying I’m the unique one, but I’m pretty sure THIS isn’t what he means!_

What’s worse was she couldn’t even talk to anyone about it. But then again, would she really if she had the chance? Sure, Dani has had crushes before, and would usually tell her friends, but this, this was just too weird to tell anyone, and way too embarrassing.

Dani found her room adjacent to Jazz’s and entered. She gaped at just how spacious it was; there was a double bed several feet from the door, sandwiched between two grey bedside tables. The bed was covered with a dark blue comforter; the same shade as Vlad’s eyes. The pillows looked plush and were protected by matching navy pillow cases. Huge Victorian windows occupied the wall to her right, drowning the bed in the light of the early afternoon. Above the windows were silver curtains, ones that reminded Dani of Vlad’s flowing hair, that reached all the way to the floor.

The teenager shrugged off her back pack and placed it next to the bed. Gathering her large duffle bag, she lugged it onto the bed and unzipped it. All her clothes for the weekend lay inside; two T shirts, one of which being her favorite, a two pairs of jeans (one light blue and the other acid stained) and a couple pairs of bras and underwear. Also, inside the duffle were some toiletries; toothpaste, toothbrush, and a stick of deodorant. Dani sighed, knowing she will no doubt be needing it later. Then she shifted gears to her back pack. Hauling it up unto the bed, Dani rummaged through its contents. All the necessary school supplies needed to have a product study weekend sat nestled within.

 Then a surge a panic flooded Dani’s mind.

 She stared wide eyed into the bag. She grabbed her books and notebooks one at a time, throwing them anywhere so they didn’t obstruct her view. But it was nowhere to be found.

Her pencil case.

She had left it at home.

She let out an irate groan.

Exiting her room, Dani walked down the hall to her parent’s own. As she approached, Dani noticed their door was kept open. She heard them talking about how happy they were to be here, that’s its really nice to see Vlad again.

Dani entered the doorway, and Maddie saw her right away.

“Oh, hello sweetheart. How’s your room? Pretty nice, right?” she asked while bent over her bags.  

“Yeah, its pretty awesome. So uh, I don’t suppose you have a pencil or something on hand, would ‘cha?”

“I’m afraid not dear, why?”

“Cuz I forgot my pencil case at home, and I was hoping to get some homework done.”  

Maddie stood up straight, focusing entirely on her youngest. “Gosh, I’m sorry hon, but I didn’t bring any pencils or pens with me.”

“I know! You can go ask Vladdie for one!” Jack proclaimed from the other side of the queen-sized bed.

“Good idea, Jack. Dani, why don’t you go ask Vlad. I’m sure he has plenty of writing utensils for you to use.” 

Dani’s heart rate accelerated.

“Oh I don’t know, I don’t wanna bother him. I mean, I’m pretty sure he’s a really busy guy, what with being a billionaire n’ all. You sure you don’t have something? A crayon maybe? ‘Cause I’ll take a crayon.”  

“Dani don’t be absurd,” Maddie laughed. “He told you he would help you out if you needed it.”

“Yeah, and it’s not like Vladdie’s gonna bite,” Jack stated.

_Well I tried. You can’t say I didn’t._

“Yeah, I’ll just go ask him. Thanks anyway guys.”

The young heroine made her way to the stairs and descended until she reached the second floor. She looked from right to left, when a thought came to her; she had no idea where Vlad had gone. She pondered, and guessed that he would be in an office or some kind of work space. Still, she didn’t know where that would be. Perhaps she could let her homework go for two days? Not likely. She could already see Sam’s disapproving face. How he managed to haunt Dani’s thoughts was beyond her.

_In any case, finding an office shouldn’t be all that difficult. Hopefully, he’ll have his door open so I won’t have to face a closed on; one that just screams “leave me alone, I’m too busy to deal with your teenage awkwardness right now”._

Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time, Dani went further down the stairs, bringing her back the foyer. She surmised that it was probably a safe bet to start down and work her way up. Therefore, she went under the archway just beneath the stairs to begin her search of Vlad’s office. A short hall, one that split right and left, greeted her. With her index finger, Dani pointed down both halls, considering which one to traverse first. She bent over and looked to the left, seeing what looked like another archway, opening up into a possibly very large dining hall. Closer to the teenager were a set of doors, too small to reach the floor and ceiling; most likely the kitchen entrance.

_Right it is._

There were five doors in this hallway, with one being on the very end, facing Dani. As she neared the door, her heartbeat kicked it into high gear. Dani started breathing in through her nose and out her mouth. Her fists came up to her chest, with one covering the other, in a vain attempt to calm down. Now in front of the door, anxiety invaded her body and mind, manifesting as trembling limbs. She ended up facing that which she hoped she wouldn’t. Maybe this wasn’t the office door? She hoped it wasn’t the office door. Still, she needed to be sure. If Dani couldn’t get her homework done this weekend, Mr. Lancer was going to have a fit, and Sam would offer no sympathy. The young girl brought a slightly shaking fist to the door, pausing for a moment before knocking.

“Come in.”

She froze.

Her eyes widen again. Sweat started to pool in her palms, exasperated only because she was balling her fists so hard. She stared at the door, this plank of wood, the only thing dividing Vlad and her. Why hadn’t she packed that stupid pencil case? 

Dani opened the door slowly, and then peered into the room. Floor to ceiling cherry bookcases lined both walls to the right and left. A plush green rug sat on the floor, between two crimson couches, and under a cherry coffee table. Towards the back, and in front of some rather large windows, was a generously sized mahogany desk. Sitting in a comfy looking black chair was the man himself; Vlad Masters, who was no doubt working on something important. His focus was intense; eyes scanning the papers in front of him swiftly but carefully. The movement of his pen reminded Dani of Johnny 13’s Shadow; signing and taking notes so quickly it was almost impossible to follow. Then suddenly he lifted his head, his eyes trailing after.

The two lock eyes again, but this time Vlad let out a little gasp. He stared at the teenager with his mouth agape, as if he wasn’t expecting her. Just like the first time, Dani felt completely helpless under his gaze. Although this time, his eyes didn’t seem the same. They didn’t cast an oppressive gaze. Instead they appeared wide, transfixed.

“Danielle?”

“Y-yes?” She inwardly cringed at how mouse-like she sounded.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

She cleared her throat.

_Time to calm down. Sam would be so ashamed if he could see me right now. Tucker would probably laugh, then maybe comment something like “ew” or “isn’t he like, **old?** ” _

She gave the same response when the trio saw a movie together back in the seventh grade. It was a highly anticipated action movie, and they went to see it opening night. Being the fifth one in a well-established franchise, everyone was hoping for a seat, but Sam had won the group tickets during a radio call. The lead actor, Ford Harrison, had been getting on in years, and it showed in the movie, but to Dani, he still looked quite attractive. She was captivated whenever he was on screen. When Tucker noticed, she made a disgusted face at Dani and giggled.

The heroine knew it was all in good fun, but a part of her couldn’t help but feel like Tucker may have been serious. Dani was a huge fan of Harrison, and it hurt a little that she couldn’t express my admiration (and attraction) for an actor she had grown up with. And she knew Tucker isn’t alone. There were plenty of girls who would scoff at older men. They don’t watch movies with older male actors or think of older celebrities as catches. Normally, Dani didn’t either, but it wasn’t like she thought their gross or anything. Mainly it was because they didn’t capture her attention a majority of the time.

Plus, there’s that preconceived notion about women with older men; they’re gold diggers. And there were a good number of them out there, but it bites that a young girl like Dani couldn’t express any kind of attraction to one without being labeled as such.

_Well, concerning me, there is the OTHER other issue, one of legality…_

“I’m sorry to bother you, but you see, I brought some homework to do over the weekend and I forgot to bring my pencil case, which of course has my pencils in it, but I guess you already knew that, since it’s called a ‘pencil case’, and I really wanted to get some work done ‘cause I’m trying to be---I mean **am** a good student, so I was kinda hoping that maybe you had something I could use for a bit?”

He chuckled. “Of course, my dear. Here, take whatever you need.” As he spoke he opened a drawer and leaned back against his chair.

Dani walked over to his desk, doing her darndest not to reveal just how flustered she was.  She neared the desk, and once she was next to it, she peered into the drawer. Vlad had a large collection of different pencils; number 2 and mechanical, and pens of various colors. All of them appeared well organized, seeing as they fit nicely in the drawer without looking like a wild animal made a nest out of them. Dani decided to take the dark blue mechanical pencil, for reasons that may or may not be the purest, and then turned to look at the billionaire again.

He was watching her; had been watching her. With his arms situated perfectly on the armrests, his back ramrod straight, and his eyes, **those eyes** , he had watched her every move. It was like a lion stalking a zebra; focus so intense, it ignored everything else around it. Dani felt that any minute now he would jump her, tackling her to the ground and eat her alive.

There was definitely something to fear about this gaze. Just like the one from before, back in the foyer. Whereas the gaze from their first encounter gave her the impression that he wasn’t dangerous, this one changed all that. The young girl suddenly found herself wondering; was the stare she saw the moment she entered just a fluke? Was she so nervous that she read him wrong?

Dani’s lips parted as she participated in the stare. She could feel herself being overpowered by him again. Her legs became mush, making it harder and harder to stand. Her heart beating so fast and so loud there was no way he couldn’t hear it.

“T-thanks…”

“Anytime, my dear, anytime,” he proclaimed.

“Well, I’d better leave you to---” Dani moved her leg, apparently forgetting it had become completely useless, and started to fall. The young heroine let out a gasp as gravity took her down to the unsympathetic floor. _For once,_ she thought, _going intangible would only make things worse._ Then she felt strong arms wrap around her torso, pulling her back and into a warm body. Vlad must have stood up at some point because her cheek was pressed against his chest. For a moment, Dani could hear his heartbeat. It sounded like it was pounding; pounding like a drum. Suddenly the young girl was drawn away from Vlad’s black-clad chest. He then loosened his grip enough to allow Dani to look up at his face.

“You better be more careful, wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself,” he said softly with a genuine, delicate smile.

“R-right..y-yeah.”

His arms acted as a brick wall. They kept Dani in place without so much as in inch to pry herself away (even if she wanted too, she couldn’t go anywhere). She looked down at their shoes, trying to regain some kind of composure.

“Well, perhaps you should get going. I’d hate to think you would be held back in your studies because of a little mishap,” he said, releasing her.

Suddenly she felt colder.

“Yeah! No problem. Thanks again!” Dani squeaked as she bolted from Vlad’s office, gripping the navy pencil so tight she thought it might snap in half. Despite her overwhelming need to get out of there, Dani also wanted to stay there, in his arms. For just a moment, she had forgotten it all; her awkwardness, her ghost powers, all of it. For a second, one flitting second, Dani Fenton was just an ordinary girl with an ordinary crush.

 

*****************

 

 He stood in front of the doors, arms clasped behind his back, waiting. Not but mere moments ago, he heard the unmistakable sound of an engine pulling up the driveway; an engine belonging to a massive RV, no doubt. When he had received a call from Maddie earlier in the week, she mentioned she and Jack would be bringing “the whole family”. Hearing her voice again after all those years was truly a wonderous thing. The way she pronounced every syllable brought him right back to his college years, back before Jack had ruined his chances with the lovely Maddie. He found himself smiling from ear to ear, feeling satisfied that her mellifluous vocals had not dampened over the last 20 years.

Maddie went on to tell him about her family; hers and Jack’s. They had two daughters, both in high school. The elder, Jasmine, was apparently the brighter star of the two; a very intelligent one. Now a senior, Jasmine was excelling in every subject in school, with plans to graduate valedictorian and attend either Harvard or Yale next fall. She took issue with her parents’ choice of profession, and wished to study child psychology in order to distance herself from ghosts. Although, it seemed she didn’t believe in their existence anyway. All in all, she sounded much like her mother; gifted and focused.

The younger daughter, however, sounded almost hopeless. Despite being related to Maddie it seemed she did not inherit her genius, her brilliance. Her grades averaged a C at best, and she got in trouble with her teachers practically on a weekly basis. Danielle was interested in outer space, and apparently did have aspirations revolving around that. Maddie also told him that she possessed a chronic “blowing curfew” problem, to top it all off.

He had hoped to finally right the wrong that had been dealt to him, but that would prove most difficult now. However, Vlad Masters prided himself at being quite good at improv when the need called for it.

The billionaire heard muffled voices outside; _looks like that need has come at last,_ he thought.

Vlad opened the doors and immediately his sights homed in on Maddie Fenton. After 20 years, she still looked just as beautiful. She had cut her hair short, which he admitted, suited her; framing her face in the most flattering way. The light blue jumpsuit was also quite pleasing, as it hugged her womanly frame nicely. Then the older man noticed Jack. He still looked the same, just as rotund and uninspiring. His hair was also shorter, which wasn’t quite as ridiculous as his old haircut _. Credit given when credit due_ , he supposed.

When Vlad welcomed the Fentons into his home, he **accidently** allowed the door to close on Jack.

Laughing inwardly, he saw Jasmine surveying the foyer with great scrutiny. Her brow furrowed as she looked from right to left, up and down. Then, she turned to him.

“What’s with the green and gold? You’re a billionaire. Surely you could afford an interior designer.”

Normally he would make quick work chastising anyone who questioned his choice of décor (especially regarding the Packers). However, Vlad believed it necessary to play the patient host. Couldn’t have the Fenton’s realizing the truth about his malicious nature, now could we? 

None the less, perhaps Jasmine was not as clever as he had been led to believe. When one is faced with a room packed to the ceiling with sports memorabilia, they would arrive at the conclusion that the individual who owns that room is a fan of that sport or team that fills said space. It was quite a shame that Maddie had fallen victim to embellishment regarding children. A wretched sickness possessed by mothers, but one Vlad hoped Maddie was able to elude.

“Jazz, hello? Football helmets, jerseys, cheese heads? He’s a Packer’s fanatic.”

_Ah, so the youngest speaks._

Naturally Vlad would assume anyone could figure that out, but he supposed it was good to know that the hopeless one had her moments. Once again, credit given when credit due. Although he wasn’t sure he liked that “fanatic” comment.

“Oh ‘fanatic’ is such a negative word, but yes,” he contested, as he continued to play his self-appointed role.

Displaying familiarity, he found, was the quickest way to levee anyone’s guard. Therefore, as a show of casual behavior, Vlad patted Danielle’s head, seeing as she was the closest to him.

Her hair was soft, smooth, akin to a bird’s downy feathers. Its sensitivity ignited nerve impulses in his fingertips, in his palm, creating in the older man a feeling of contentedness. A sensation, or rather, an emotion that was quite foreign to him, since he lost it all those years ago, he found its presence strange. However, he did not feel alarmed. Instead, Vlad felt an urge to maintain this feeling. As a result, he ran his hand down her hair a fraction, allowing the fickle emotion to flood his brain, in turn filling his body with the effects of dopamine.

Then a sudden thought careened into his pleasure-filled mind; _I am in a room with other people, people who would think it rather odd that I displayed such a behavior if they had caught it._

Immediately, Vlad removed his hand while still maintaining a casual demeanor. However, a rush of longing replaced the former contentedness. A wish to feel her hair again, to run his hands through it and take in its comforting sensitivity was almost all consuming. It took all his self-control not to stroke Danielle’s midnight locks like a cat.

“I don’t understand, you have billions of dollars. Instead of buying this stuff, why don’t you just buy the team?”

“Because the Packers are owned by the city of Green Bay and they won’t sell them to me!” Vlad fired back, but not as a form of rebuke. He let his patient façade falter for a moment, an act he mentally berated himself for.  The sudden and bizarre longing invaded his senses, and he found it to be too much. Although, the Fentons would most likely attribute this little outburst to his love for the Packers, which he saw no issue in allowing. However, the truth of the matter was, he was starting to feel irritable at not being able to touch the girl’s hair anymore. The need was all encompassing, if not rather odd.

_In any case, I cannot allow another breach of character like that._

The eccentric bachelor turned to Maddie with the intension of delighting her with a witty pick up line, but as soon as was to pass his lips, it felt…wrong.

For the first time in the last two decades, Vlad felt bewildered. Truly bewildered. Was it not but minutes ago that he was planning their wedding vows? Didn’t he set up this cunning little trap in order to waste Jack and take Maddie for his very own? For reasons beyond his current understanding, the idea of whisking Maddie away no longer struct him as so attractive as it once did. Vlad casted his eyes down at the floor in perplexity. How had his attitude changed? And so suddenly? Why did it change?

He looked up. His line of sight met with Danielle’s resting gaze.

Her eyes appeared delicate, and mirrored two pools of glistening water. They trapped him. The will to look away, to look at anything else, was gone. But how? What power did this child possess, that she should render him such? How could this girl induce in him a feeling long lost as well as demand from him his complete and undivided attention?

_Surely this must be a madness, though temporary, induced by my anticipation? Having waited so long to have Maddie with me, to finally claim her as mine, to finally ruin Jack. Perhaps this is a manifestation of my eagerness?_

            “I’d better let Jack in, huh Vlad?”

Suddenly the billionaire was wretched from his thoughts. He craned his head to follow Maddie as she made her way to the doors. Once opened, Jack came crashing in, looking ever the buffoon. He eyed Vlad, and preceded to take the former classmate into a suffocating hug.

“V-man! It’s been way too long!” he shouted, leaving a small ringing in Vlad’s ear.  

“Yes yes, quite.”

“Well I’m sure there will be time to catch up later. We need to take our bags to our rooms.”

_Oh yes, I must act like a gracious host._

“Indeed! Of course, what sort of a host am I being? I’ll show you to your rooms. That is, of course, if Jack will **kindly** let me go?”  

Jack apologized and released the business tycoon, and not a moment too soon. This was the second time he nearly lost control in the last 5 minutes. This weekend was going to be harder than he previously thought.

 

******************* 

 

Vlad’s office didn’t usually act as a safe haven, given that he didn’t normally entertain house guests (at least not ones like **these** ), but he found its spacious interior, solid four walls, and dimmed lighting to be of great comfort in this moment. He took a seat at his desk, electing to busy himself with work reports until the next necessary meeting with the Fentons.

Some time passed, though he wasn’t not sure how much, before he heard a timid knock on the door. Without looking up, Vlad granted them permission to enter, only to immediately regret the instinctual decision. What if it was Jack coming to bother him? Given his reaction in the foyer, Vlad knew it was only a matter of time before Jack would start becoming an annoyance, grating his soul and testing his well-constructed, even if fabricated, patience.

The older man heard the office door open but did not hear Jack’s booming voice. Instead, silence occupied the room. He raised his head from his work, and spotted Danielle standing in the doorway. She looked no different than a deer caught in the headlights.

Vlad’s breath caught in his throat as he watched her; her small form appearing so fragile. She may have had her father’s eyes and hair, but they were significantly better, far more appealing than Jack’s. Those pools of baby blue reflected the gentle lighting of the chandelier, making them glisten and shine in a way that Jack’s never could. Even more tantalizing was the girl’s long black hair. Her glossy raven tresses flowing down her tiny back bestowed upon Vlad the desire to stroke them with his fingertips. That petite form of hers just begging to be held, protected, dared Vlad not to move from his spot and hold her for all eternity. Once again, she had trapped him.  

Vlad came out of his thoughts just enough to regard her: “Danielle?”

“Y-yes?” she replied, in the cutest, shyest voice to ever caress his eardrums.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Her response was littered with insecurity. Speaking much too fast for an ordinary conversation, it became clear to Vlad that his presence made her nervous, anxious. Though it was not his intention to incite such discomfort in her, he found it rather endearing none the less. After all, the man was quite the sadist.

Even so, finding her anxious demeanor cute inspired more inquiry. He knew he relished in the distress in others, and quite enjoyed the fear that many displayed when they displeased him. However, this was something different altogether. This wasn’t simple pleasure or satisfaction in one’s pain; this was plain adoration. He found her absolutely adorable. He wanted to see more of her this way, but perhaps under more intimate circumstances.

However, with such desires rising from his very core, Vlad realized that something in him was changing, altering because of this young girl. Once again, he had to ask why. How was she creating these feelings, these wants within him? How was she able to rival Maddie for his attention? Why was it her? And more importantly, how much stronger could these feelings get? Would they overpower his mind? Invade his every thought? With Maddie, he thought of her often, of course, but to say that every waking moment he had was enveloped by her would be a lie. Over the last two decades, he had imagined how he could rise to power, in both the corporate world and the Ghost Zone, and did whatever he could to ensure his wealth was guaranteed. In short, his thoughts of Maddie and his plans for conquest shared his attention.

But with Danielle, since the moment he touched her, she was all he could think about. Perhaps for a moment he was able to distract himself with work related things, but it was for **only** a moment. He wondered if the reason why Danielle filled his mind was because she was related to Maddie. But wouldn’t he be more attracted to Jasmine, seeing as they were more alike?

One thing was certain; Danielle Fenton had completely invaded his consciousness. Whether or not this would last, remained to be seen.             

“Of course, my dear. Here, take whatever you need,” he offered, opening his pencil drawer in the process.

_Perhaps this would be a good time to test something. To see just how much this girl ensnares me. I must learn how I react to her proximity objectively._

As she walked over, Vlad’s heart burst to life; it began to pound in his chest slowly, increasing in rate the nearer Danielle drew. It was as if the two are in sync, Danielle and he.

Now right beside Vlad, Danielle reached into the drawer, taking out the navy pencil. Her closeness made it nigh impossible to calm the billionaire’s heart. It was beating so intensely he feared it would rupture his chest cavity.

 _Butter biscuits, what is happening to me? In the span of half an hour, I have nearly lost my composure twice and have devolved into what can only be described as a lovestruck teenager! By the Ghost Zone, I am Vlad Masters; a 40 year old business overlord with billions to my name! I have by far the greatest influence in the state of Wisconsin, own numerous businesses, and possess some of the greatest companies in leading technology in the world! What power could this child possibly have? What authority does she hold that could make me so infantile?_  

The child in question turned to Vlad, and once again he found himself imprisoned by her gaze. There was most definitely something to this girl, something substantial that Vlad had not anticipated. Now his goal is clear; to investigate Danielle Fenton to find out just what that “something” was, lest he go mad.  

 “T-thanks…”  

“Anytime, my dear, anytime.”   

“Well, I’d better leave you to---” She moved, but miss stepped, her leg surrendering all balance. Suddenly she began to fall to the floor, but Vlad was much faster; as if by instinct, the eccentric businessman reached out and took her delicate form in his arms, pulling her into an embrace.

Everything went utterly still.

Quiet.

If it weren’t for Vlad’s still very obvious beating heart, he would have thought he had gone deaf. But, despite his previous uncertainty and inner turmoil, something about this embrace felt perfectly right. With young Danielle situated nicely in his arms, her sinfully soft hair draped under his vice-like hold, her sweet blue eyes within his sight, and her adorable face so close to his chest, Vlad was so certain then that he had pleased God or some kind of higher power to deserve such a great pleasure. A strange feeling washed over him then, one that led him to want to protect her, hold her, be near her.        

“You better be more careful, wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”  

“R-right..y-yeah,” she stuttered, refusing to make eye contact.

Hearing the tone in her voice brought Vlad back to reality. Perhaps she did have something to her, but Danielle was not the one he desired. The reason he orchestrated this silly reunion was to win Maddie’s heart and ruin Jack Fenton forever. In Danielle’s eyes, Vlad was just an old friend of her parents. And to him, she was just the child of the woman he loved and the man he loathed. Not matter the curiosity, if his inquiry led him to forget his true objective, then it was for the best that he abandoned it.         

“Well, perhaps you should get going. I’d hate to think you would be held back in your studies because of a little mishap,” Vlad said as he released her.   

“Yeah! No problem. Thanks again!” She called over her shoulder as she ran out of the room, leaving Vlad with a longing that burned in his very core.

As he sat down in his desk chair, he told himself over and over again that Danielle meant nothing to him, **should** mean nothing to him. But all the while, he wanted nothing more than to see her again, to hold her again. The memory of her closeness danced around in his mind and refused to fade. As much as he tried to deny it, Danielle Fenton suddenly meant the world to him, and he hadn’t the faintest idea why.


	3. Chapter 3

Since Tucker, Sam, and Dani had to cram in some extra studying during the week, the young ghost heroine had left most of her in-week homework unfinished or untouched. As a consequence, she had a mountain of assignments to wrentch herself through. Math worksheets to solve, boring poetry to read and analyze, lab reports to fill out, history summaries to write, and choir songs to memorize. She groaned. All this work was bad enough, but without Tucker to help, Dani knew the work would take twice, maybe three times as long.

_Who knows how long I’m gonna be at this?_

Who knew how long she’d be at this? She did.

Several.

Hours.

*************************

 

It was already 2 o’clock in the morning, and Dani was still sitting up on the bed, with papers and notebooks scattered all around her. She rubbed the fatigue tugging at her eyes as she picked up one of my math worksheets. Dani was always really bad at math, but it got that much harder when some bright spark decided at add the alphabet to it. All those equations and formulas swam around in her brain with nowhere to go, and with no way for her to make sense of them. They meshed and overlapped, making it harder for her to remember just which parts go with each formula. Earlier the poor girl caught herself using a part of the Pythagory Theorem in the quadratic equation.

Trying to stifle a yawn, the teenager trained her eyes on the problems in front of her. Only ten more to go. For a moment she felt relieved, only to remember that she still had to fill out her biology lab report. With a heavy sigh, she decided to leave that for tomorrow, and just focus on getting through the advanced algebra.

Suddenly her ghost sense went off.

“You have **got** to be kidding me? I so don’t have time for this.”

Dani jumped up out of bed and went ghost, zipping out of her room and into the hallway. She saw Jack walking sleepily down the hall, and for a few seconds she followed him, taking care to fly just at the ceiling and out of his sight. She heard him grunt, then mumble “bathroom” under his breath.

 _Dad’s lucky that I’ve been up late enough that I had to take a bathroom break. Although, it did take me a good 15 minutes to find a bathroom on this floor_.

 The young girl hovered over to Jack, noting that his eyelids were closed. She took him by the shoulders, turning him intangible, and flew through the wall to their right; right into the bathroom. When she left, she heard him sign in relief.

Phasing back through the wall, Dani noticed the same three vultures from Monday skulking the hall.

_They must have tracked my dad here._

Feeling a bit of snark surge through her body, she approached the phantom fowl, taking on a mischievous grin.

“Hi guys, remember me?” she asked as she socked one hand with her fist.

They turned, shrieked, and retreated.

“Huh. That was almost too easy.”

 _If someone really wanted my father out of the way,_ she began to think, _they hired some pretty poor help to do the job_.

Even so, tracking them down and sending them back into the Ghost Zone is still the wisest course of action, she surmised. Dani wouldn’t be at ease until she knew the possible threat to her dad had been dealt with. And she can’t help but ponder again; who could possibly have it out for her dad? Something the young heroine hadn’t thought of was the fact that if this pursuer had ghosts working for them, then that meant they could be a ghost too, or at least someone knowledgeable about them.

“Ahh, bright girl.”

She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a voice behind her. Turning, Dani saw a ghost who looked like he stepped out of a cheesy vampire movie. He wore a white suit and matching cape, with a red underside. His hair was blacker than any shadow, and it stuck up forming a sideways crescent moon shape. Glistening black boots, belt, and gloves finished his look, with red eyes and blue skin adding to his inhuman appearance.

She had faced plenty of strange looking ghosts before, and since she was losing precious homework-time, Dani didn’t find him particular threatening.

“Oh whatever. I was aiming for the birds, but you’ll do,” she stated, smirking.

The teenager threw a punch, but her fist was caught in his grip. The sudden hold was like a car abruptly coming to a stop, slamming on the brakes. He threw Dani at the wall, and she sank onto an end table that once sported a perfectly in tact potted plant.

_This guy’s reflexes are fast. Too fast to play around with._

Gathering herself, Dani fixed her neon green eyes on him and launched herself at him, but once again she was stopped in her tracks by his powerful grip. This time he sent her onto the floor.

“My vultures were supposed to bring the big idiot to me, but you’ll do,” he started, using a mocking tone when he mimicked her own words. “Dani Phantom, right?”

“You…you know me?”

“Of course I know you,” he proclaimed, before phasing through the wall behind him.

Following him, Dani found both she and him in a small library. There were bookcases lining every inch of the room. Four long tables and chairs occupied the floor, and an impressive chandelier hung from the ceiling.

“You’re the ghost girl who uses her powers for **good**. How quaint,” he said unimpressed. Then he started to circle Dani as they hovered in the room. “Aren’t you going to try to shove me into your ridiculous thermos?” he asked with a border-line-sinister grin.

“I..” she paused.  

_This is the guy who’s after my father. He’s the one who sent those ghost birds to Amity Park, but… he knows about me. How could he possibly know about me? Is that how he learned about my dad; through me? No, that doesn’t seem likely. Did he hear about me from one of my enemies?_

He seemed to imply that not knowing about her was a silly notion, given how proud he seemed to be in stating that fact.

“I don’t want to fight you.”

“No. No you don’t.”

The Dracula doubleganger sent a blast of fuchsia ghost energy at Dani, hitting her hard enough to send me into the bookcases. She picked herself back up and responded in kind. But then he put up some kind of shield, stopping the attack before it reached him. In frustration, Dani continued with a barrage of similar attacks, but all with the same result.

He yawned, then added: “So year one.”

“How are you doing that?” Dani snapped.

“Easily. Just as easily as this.”

Unexpectedly, three more of him appeared around Dani, trapping her. She looked at the clones in shock. Just who was this guy?

“Tell me,” they all said in unison. “Can you do this yet, child?”

“N-no…I can’t…” She trailed off.

_Apparently, there’s more to this ghost stuff than I’d thought. Whoever this dude is, he’s powerful. Really powerful. And dangerous. If a guy like this is after dad, then what kind of a chance do I have at stopping him?_

“Just…just leave Jack Fenton alone, O.K.?”

His clones laughed. Loudly. “Leave Jack Fenton alone, eh? And why should I do that, pray tell?” one of them, possibly the original, questioned.

“Because he’s a really talented ghost hunter and he won’t hesitate to tear you limb from ectoplasmic limb.”

Once again, his clones laughed.

“I’m serious! He’ll kick your butt to Timbuktu and back. You’d be better off not messing with him.”

“As if a dolt like Jack Fenton could overcome me,” one proclaimed.

“He’s about as dangerous as a butter knife,” another deadpanned.

  _He’s got me there. Dad’s not exactly known for his intimidating nature. In fact, he probably couldn’t even scare a ghost with a fear of brightly colored jumpsuits. Heck, the real one to fear is mom._

_Wait… mom!_

“Maybe you’re not afraid of Jack Fenton, but I wouldn’t bet my afterlife that you’d stand one minute against mo---I mean his wife, Maddie Fenton.”

At this, the four spooks shared a wide-eyed expression. Their eyebrows raised, and the spectral energy that had been building in their hands died away. Their all-red eyes stared back at Dani, each pair reminding the young girl of fruit punch or Kool Aid.

“Maddie…Fenton…?” one, the same one that appeared to be the original, said in a near whisper.

“That’s right. When Maddie Fenton sees a ghost, she wastes no time in dispatching them. Especially when they threaten her family,” Dani declared, crossing her arms in a rather smug fashion.

Suddenly three of them vanished, leaving only one Creature of the Weird. For a moment he looked down, seemingly in thought. Dani watched him as his bobbed up and down, remaining silent for a good while.

He had seemed so cocky before, but now his arrogance had seeped away. The mention of Maddie Fenton had, from the looks of it, sent him into a state of retrospection, or at least Dani hoped so. If he was actually afraid of Maddie, then maybe he won’t want to try his luck with Jack. Although, Dani found herself wondering; **why** is he after her dad? He didn’t see him as much of a threat, so she assumed he was not out to kill him out of necessity. Anger perhaps? Did he hate him? But why would he?

_Well, I guess most ghosts are angry with dad, seeing as he tries to maim anyone he comes across._

But a ghost as powerful as this jerk? Dani didn’t buy that he wanted revenge simply because he may have fired a Fenton Blaster at him once. No. There had to be something else to it.

Out of nowhere, she felt a sharp jolt course through her body. Flying back towards the door, Dani turned intangible. She fell through and hit the floor on the other side, and soon her attacker was on her. The girl put up a guard with her forearms but he just blasted her again, spreading them out and exposing her face.

He threw a punch, but Dani managed to dodge by moving her head, causing his fist to collide with the floor. Then he growled.

“What’s up? Don’t got that amazing bat-sight? ‘Cause your accuracy is way off.”

Growling again, sounding more annoyed this time, he fired fuchsia beams at Dani from his eyes. They burn her forehead, making her shout and grasp the spot in pain. In a moment of reflex, she kicked his belly with her knee, sending him flying into the wall. Before he could have a chance to recover, Dani summoned more ghostly energy and shot him in his abdomen. He put a black-gloved hand to his injured spot after being hit. Opening his eyes, as he had closed them when he was hit, he glared intensely at her; looking right into her eyes. He bared his teeth, and for the first time Dani noticed he had fangs.

_Man, really going the extra mile for that vampire aesthetic, huh?_

Rising to her feet, the heroine eyed him carefully. After a second or two, she said: “Look, just listen to me. Leave the Fenton’s alone. Trust me, you don’t want to have to go up against them. Or me.”

“Ah, standing as their almighty protector, are we? I wouldn’t be so noble if I were you. They despise ghosts. You said that yourself. And besides, it is **you** who is better off not messing with **me**. I have had years to perfect my abilities. Years that, I’m afraid, you will never have.”

He reared back until he was flush against the wall. Bending slightly, an orb of light manifested in his hands. Before Dani could react, the light sailed toward her and when it made contact, she felt the same jolt as before, but far more excruciating this time. It was like she was a fly caught in one of those industrial lamps. She fell back onto the floor, seeing her attacker fade into a murky blob, then darkness.

 

******************

 

_A joke._

_Surely this was the universe’s idea of a joke._

_It must be._

_Or is it irony?_

_A cruel, twisted case of irony that has brought me here? Brought me here before this sight, this revelation?_

For the time being, Vlad have neither the knowledge nor confidence to tell which, only that it was most definitely an interesting turn of events.

After the eccentric bachelor had a chance to regain his focus, he sent his vultures to deliver Jack to him. Well after the midnight hour, he told them. Not but a few minutes later, he transformed and teleported down to his ghost lab to wait for the big, dumb oaf. However, he soon felt another ghostly presence in his castle; one that he was not familiar with.

He elected to trace the source of this new presence, and once he arrived at the third floor he found a young ghost child with her back to him. She had protected Jack and antagonized his birds, that much he figured out. Within seconds Vlad was able to deduce this child’s identity; the much whispered about ghost girl of Amity Park.

Now this child was lying in front of him, bruised and battered from their altercation. This girl, who had underestimated him, overestimated herself, and had foolishly engaged him, was now upon the floor, debilitated and silent.

At first this was the desire outcome; when she had mentioned Maddie, Vlad was brought back to a state he thought he resolved to let go of, to have it fade into abstraction. He was doing this for  Maddie, to **claim** Maddie. Jack’s annihilation would finally permit him to have her at his side, and yet at the mention of her name all he could think about was her daughter. Suddenly, he remembered her azure eyes, her raven hair, her tiny form in his arms, all of it. He remembered her adorable nervousness, the way she stuttered when he pulled her against him. He recalled how her steps fell in tantum with his heartbeat that moment in the office. And finally, he remembered her flustered face when she was in his embrace; a face he knew she didn’t want him to see.

He lost it, lost all control. As a ghost, however, Vlad saw no harm in relieving some pent-up frustration. The ghost girl had pushed a button, whether knowingly or not was irrelevant. And he desired nothing more than to see that smug attitude turn to surrender.

He didn’t quite get surrender, however. Instead, he got twin white rings and young Danielle Fenton lying unconscious on the floor. For a moment, he stood, observing the sight before him. Besides a couple of light burn marks from his ectoplasmic attacks, she still appeared flawless.

He knelt down and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, suddenly feeling another emotion that he thought long dead to him.

Remorse.

It was never his intention to hurt Danielle. Though the wounds were quite minor, the billionaire found himself drowning in aches of regret, causing a tightness in his chest that felt constrictive. He placed his palm upon the girl’s cheek, caressing her cheekbone with his thumb.

Black rings appeared around his midsection, and Vlad Masters returned.

He picked Danielle up, cradling her in his arms as he trekked back down the hall to her room. Finding it unlocked, he opened the door and walked over to the bed, pausing for a moment when he approached it. Standing just a foot away, he saw the numerous papers, notebooks, and texts sitting on the navy comforter. What appeared to be worksheets lay among the scattered pieces of loose leaf, her handwriting filling in most of the empty spaces. Upon closer inspection, however, Vlad noticed what looked like an unfinished math assignment. Looking up, he also saw that the bed is still made.

_Was she working on her studies just before our confrontation?_

Vlad frowned, guilt washing over him in twenty-foot waves. Everything became so clear. Too clear. Her troubles in school, her lack-luster grades, her issue with curfew, every single thing was as clear as day.

Vlad shifted the teenager over to one arm, and with the other he pulled back the blue comforter. He carefully placed her on the bed and tucked her in. She stirred but did not wake. Vlad couldn’t help but smile as she moved her head to the side, facing him. Under her breath, so faint he could barely make it out, she mumbled: “no…stay away from them…from my…from Mr. Masters…”

His heart skipped a beat.

_Fudge buckets, I’m becoming pathetic._

Although, he could not deny that hearing her concern for him made him happier than he had been in years. _Far happier than the thoughts of Maddie that kept me going for so long_ , he dared to think.  

He leaned down, almost a hair’s length away from the girl’s face, and pet the top of her head. Softly stroking it, he allowed her satiny hair to ease him.

_How can someone ignite such furry in the heart, only to tame it again mere moments after?_

Reluctantly, he removed myself. Vlad rose, turned his back to the young girl, and made his way for the door. However, just as he reached it, he looked over his shoulder, and smiled sweetly when his navy orbs found her sleeping face.

“Sleep tight, little badger,” he whispered.

Closing the door delicately behind him, another realization assaulted him; Danielle and he were the same; the only two of their kind in the world. Having both been created by that imbecile’s foolishness, their wasn’t another like them in the entirety of the Ghost Zone, or the planet. Their bond was forged before either of them knew it, before they had even known each other. And somehow his instincts knew that. Vlad’s body was aware of this before his mind had even noticed, hence his adamant attachment to Maddie. However, things had changed now, and by The Ghost Zone, things would continue to change. No matter what, he would protect Danielle Fenton, care for her, watch her, love her, even if it destroyed him.                                     


	4. Chapter 4

Quiet, comfortable darkness surrounded the young heroine, filling her senses and enveloping her body. It held her down, deep in an unseen softness. She started seeing ambiguous shapes drifting above and around her, edges shifting and lines waving; they danced in disorganization. A feeling, another pull, grew deep within the ghost girl, begging for something unclear. It created an urge, maybe to move? It yanked at her already overwhelmed senses, stirring annoyance. Through the dark, a dim brightness emerged. Slowly, it overcame the darkness, illuminating every inch until it became a dull yellow.

She grunted, turning away from the yellow, trying to find the black again. Curling into a ball, Dani suddenly became aware of something plush covering her. And a silky thing underneath her small body. And something like a cloud under her head.

Her eyes popped open, and she sat up slightly, resting her upper body’s weight on her elbow. Everything was still dim, but Dani could clearly make out the layout of her room; the beside table to the left, the door further down the wall from her, and the end of the rug poking out from under the bed.

She blinked.

_How did I end up back in my room?_

Dani turned her head over her shoulder and found the cause of the retreating black. Sunlight leaked through the still closed drapes. She turned entirely to the windows, but her legs kicked something off the bed. Investigating, Dani noticed her notebooks and several worksheets on the floor, **unfinished** worksheets.

_Hold on…I never finished my math homework from last night?!_

The young girl threw herself out of bed and gathered her school stuff, putting them back on the comforter.

_I had gone to stop those vulture ghosts from harming my dad, and then that vampire-looking creep showed up. He defeated me, and shortly after I remember falling unconscious. But I was in the hall, so how did I get back here?_

Shaking her head, Dani stood up and rubbed the back of her neck and then walked over to the drapes. She opened them, and the mid-morning sun assaulted her features, causing her to shut one eye.

_I’ll need to work on my math, **and** finish my lab report today. If I’m lucky, maybe that ghost beat some genius into me._

She snickered at the thought.  

 

****************

 

Dani stretched her neck and arms, triumph coursing through her. Finally, she had finished all her homework for the weekend! Granted, it did take her several hours. She looked over at the table clock at her bedside; it read 3:44. She had to skip breakfast, but oddly enough no one came to collect her anyway. She had assumed either her mom or dad knew she still had work to do, so they left her alone. Either way, she was done and absolutely **starving**.

Leaping off the bed, careful not to knock over her stuff, Dani skipped to her door and opened it. Immediately, she caught a whiff of something mouthwatering. Licking her chops, the young heroine walked down the hall to the stairs and skipped one step at a time on the way down.

Once she reached the foyer, Dani noticed red and white streamers hanging down from the ceiling. Also, at the ceiling were balloons, ones matching the streamers. Behind her sat a huge red n’ white banner that read “Class of ‘84”, suspended prominently from the stairway banister.

“Huh,” she said, raising her eyebrows.

Picking up the trail of that delicious smell, Dani followed her nose down a hall to her left. She walked straight through until she reached a breath-taking ballroom. The hardwood floor shined with a glossy sheen. The large arched windows appeared utterly spotless, and they presented a beautiful view of the Wisconsin country side. Three gorgeous (and really big) crystalline chandeliers dropped down from the high ceiling, illuminating the entire space.

She looked to the left, and she saw a buffet table, and caterers assembling quite the spread; three hams, several plates of finger sandwiches, a variety of different cheeses, lots of caviar, four large bowls of salad, a very large bowl of fondue surrounded by stuff to dip in it, a couple vegetable plates, four big fruit displays and two chocolate fountains, and a bunch of different chocolates all sat across the generously sized table. Next to that, on the other wall, sat a drink table with three bowls of punch.

The caterers looked up at Dani as she wandered in, mouth agape and eyes searching all around. One of them smiled and said: “Well hello miss. Here for the reunion? A bit young for a former college student, huh?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I came here with my parents. They’re the actual graduates,” she responded with an awkward smile.

“I see. Hope you enjoy the festivities none the less, miss,” he replied.

“Thanks.”

The girl walked over to the drink table, curious. As she neared, Dani peered over the rim of one of the bowls and saw clear liquid with chunks of ice and whole cranberries. The other two bowls looked the same, except each had a different berry; one had blueberries and the other raspberries.

“Made fresh, completely from scratch,” the caterer called, from his position at the buffet table.

“The punch?” Dani asked, turning around.

“That’s right. Mr. Masters requires the best, and that’s exactly what we deliver,” he proclaimed, with a proud smile.

“Always,” another caterer added, with a chuckle.

“Oh yeah? Have you worked with him before?” she asked curiously.

“Many times, miss. From public functions to private parties we’ve done it all. Each and every time he needs good food and service, he gives us a call.”

“Although sometimes I wish he didn’t,” another guy chimed in.

“Ha, I hear that,” remarked yet another.

Dani looked at them in confusion, but with a gnawing interest that she would probably regret giving in to later.

“What do you mean?”

The six caterers looked at each other, all with cautious expressions. After a moment, one of them, the one that first spoke to her, turned to Dani and sighed heavily.

“He can be a bit…demanding. If something isn’t exactly as he wants it, he’ll order us to change it; make it right. He’ll hound us until he’s satisfied, and sometimes he never is.”

“Not to mention, he’s unreasonable!” snapped one of the six. “We’ll do exactly what he wants, and most of the time he will **always** find something wrong. Once, one of us tried to explain to him how we operate, and he barked in his face. Told him that we would do things his way, or we could look for employment elsewhere.”

“Yikes,” Dani muttered under her breath.

“But anyway, its not appropriate to badmouth our employer,” the former guy sighed. “At the end of the day he still pays our bill and we leave with fat n’ happy wallets.”

“And he does let us keep any of the leftover food instead of pitching it.”

“That’s kinda generous of him,” Dani commented. 

“Yeah. We get to eat the awesome food we prepare, and none of it goes to waste.”

The young girl rocked back and forth on her heels, arms behind her back. She knew that those powerful eyes were not from an easy-going person. Though she wasn’t surprised that Vlad Masters could be hard to deal with, she was still unsure about him being a total jerk. He had been nice to her and her family…well, maybe not to her father. He had a kind smile, even if she only saw it once. She wondered what it would be like to see that smile all the time.

She shook her head.

 _Thinking like that will only make this weekend harder for me. It’s going to be tough enough trying to not stare at him during the reunion, but then I’ll have to leave tomorrow. After that, it might be a long time before I see him again, if ever. Maybe I’m being overly cautious, but I really don’t need my heart broken over something as stupid as a crush on a guy who’s **way** out of reach. Heck, it would be better if I just forgot about him entirely_.

 

**********************

 

“No. No. Absolutely not. No way,” the young girl declared.  

“Come on Dani, it’s not like I’m asking you to tear your nails out,” Maddie stated.  

“That would be a lot less painful.”

Lying in front of her on her bed was a dress. A strapless dress with a silver sequin bust and pastel pink A-line skirt. Placed next to the garment was a pair of 2-inch silver high heels. Dani scrunched her face at the clothing, glaring daggers at the sparkling sequins. Maddie had snuck the dress and shoes in with her luggage. 

“I told you I hated dresses! And what’s wrong with a pair of converse?”

“With this,” she began, pointing to the dress. “That wouldn’t work.”

“Then let me wear something I brought. My plain white T and some jeans should be fine.”

 “Uh uh. This is a formal occasion, so you need to look your best.”

“But you’re in your jumpsuit!” Dani refuted.

“What makes you think I’m not changing?”

“Well, what about Jazz? Last time I checked she was still in her usual outfit.”

Maddie crossed her arms. “Jazz said she’s not going. She’s not feeling well.”

_I’ll bet._

“But why do I have to wear **this**? Can’t I borrow something of Jazz’s for tonight?”

“Dani, are you saying your not going to wear the clothes that I personally picked out for you?” Maddie said with big wet eyes, dropping her arms to her sides.

_Well, crud._

Maddie had always been really good at guilting Dani. But despite her attempts to expand her youngest daughter’s wardrobe every chance she got, Dani knew that her mother put a lot of thought into the clothes she picked out. Maddie chose things in colors Dani liked, and tried to stick to her style as much as possible. Maddie knew Dani liked pink and grey, so when picking out this dress she knew it would appeal to her in some way. And it wasn’t as if Dani was against showing some skin, as her few pairs of denim shorts would prove. What she hated about dresses was the comfort factor; there was none. They were tight, they rode up, and she couldn’t sit the way she liked to when in one.

Dani sighed, letting her shoulders drop from her earlier tension. 

“Alright. I’ll wear them,” she muttered.

“Oh sweety! You’re going to look so pretty tonight!” Maddie squeaked while hugging her youngest. Then she practically skipped out of the room. After Maddie shut the door, the young heroine focused on the dress again.

_The sequins are really pretty, there’s no denying that. Doesn’t mean I have to like though._

Huffing, Dani removed her clothes down to her underwear and bra. She reached for the dress, then paused. She went over to her duffle bag and pulled out her deodorant.

“Mm hmm. Definitely.”

After applying the deodorant, Dani walked back over to the dress and shoes. She tossed the deodorant stick over onto the bed and took the dress, fumbling with it until she found the zipper. Once the troublesome thing was unzipped, Dani stepped into it, one leg at a time. Then she pulled the dress up until it covered her chest.

Dani then turned to the heels, and groaned, but reached for them nonetheless. She slipped each of them on, and walked over to the door, smoothing her hair out. Once out in the hall, Dani ventured to her parents’ door and knocked. In one second flat Jack threw open the door, a big smile displayed on his face.  

“Dani! You look great, kiddo! Really great!”

“Th-thanks,” she said as she rubbed the back of her neck. Then she paused, looking Jack over. The only thing remotely formal about his attire was the black n’ blue striped tie at his neck.

“Why aren’t you dressed for the reunion?”

Jack cocked his head to the side, looking confused. “I am.”  

Maddie walked into the doorway, also still in her jumpsuit. She flashed an eye-closed smile at Dani.

“Mom, I thought you said you were changing?”

“I lied,” she stated, shrugging.

“Mom!”

“Now now, there’s no time for bickering, Dani. We’ve got a reunion to attend!” Jack announced as he charged passed Dani.

Dani took a deep breath and followed after her parents.

_One of these days, I won’t fall for mom’s tricks anymore. Hopefully._

They walked down the stairs to the foyer, and when Dani looked up, she saw a ton of people littering the space. All of them were talking and laughing, no doubt reminiscing about “the good ole days”. Some of them were wearing fancy suits and dresses, and others were in less flashy attire. You could definitely see the haves and the have-nots in the crowd. All those who graduated with impressive grades and went on to become powerhouses in their chosen fields, versus the ones who did moderately well or picked a major that did nothing for them. These guys probably had no choice but to work at some dead-end 9 to 5 job just to put food on the table. 

Jack bounded toward a group of 4 people and bear hugged some poor guy in a polo. Maddie rolled her eyes, sighed, and joined him. Not knowing what to do herself, Dani followed. For the next two hours, her parents introduced Dani to their old college buddies and marveled over how much time had passed. They chatted about their college days; what they did, how much fun they had, the professors they hated.

Eventually the ghost hunting couple and their group made it to the ballroom. As soon as the young heroine could, she slipped away from them and headed for the buffet table. When she laid eyes on the delicious spread again, Dani wasted no time in grabbing a plate. Since she didn’t eat anything when she had come into the room earlier, the ghost girl was even hungrier now, and definitely not caring if anyone saw her grab mountains of food. Weighing her options, Dani decided to go with a few pieces of ham, several finger sandwiches, and a generous handful of chocolates. Then, after a couple seconds of contemplating, grabbed a few strawberries, dipped them in the chocolate fountain, and put them next to her chocolates.

She found an empty seat behind the drink table. Even though chairs littered the area, the only one sitting down at the tables was her. But after a long time of listening to conversations Dani didn’t understand, she had enough of socializing. 

The chocolates were amazing! Probably made out of the finest ingredients, they brought moan after moan out of her. They were smooth, melting in her mouth and sliding down her throat with ease. The flavors of the raspberry, peanut butter, chocolate, and various buttercream fillings overwhelmed her taste buds, inciting over-the-top expressions of ecstasy. Dani was pretty glad she was by herself, otherwise people would definitely turn and stare.

She leaned back in her chair, letting out a satisfied sigh. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, letting her arms fall at her sides. So maybe the party wasn’t so bad, after all.

“Well, kiddo, you’re looking quite fetching this evening.”

Startled, Dani launched into a sitting up position. Vlad stood in front of the table, looking at her with a smile, the very same one from the day before.

Her heart kicked into overdrive.

“Oh thanks! My mom got me this dress. She insisted that I ‘look my best’, so here I am,” she said, spreading her arms out, drawing attention to her dress.

_Time to calm down again. I need to at lease **look** like I’m not falling to pieces on the inside! _

“I’m glad you could be here. I heard your sister wasn’t feeling well, so she had to miss. A pity, really.”

“Yeah, if you buy that,” Dani muttered.

“Pardon?”

“Oh nothing!” she said, putting her hands up.

Vlad moved around the table and took a seat in the empty chair next to Dani. He folded his arms and leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. Looking at the young girl, he said: “So tell me about yourself Danielle. Your mother only told me so much over the phone. She mentioned you had an interest in outer space?” 

“Yeah! I hope to be an astronaut someday. I’ve loved space since I was a kid! Stars and planets, comets and meteors, space shuttles and space suits! You know, when I was 6, I asked my mom for a model of the Apollo 13 Lunar module for my birthday, and I learned how to put it together all on my own.”

“Indeed?” he asked, unfolding his arms and placing them in his lap.

“Yup, and a couple years ago I downloaded a space shuttle launch simulator on my computer. I’ve played it so many times! I could tell you **exactly** how to get that puppy into orbit.” she declared proudly.

He chuckled. “So, tell me.”

Dani gawked at him. “Wait…really?”

“Of course. You seem genuinely passionate about it, and its quite pleasant conversing with someone who holds such ambitions. It makes the conversation more interesting, don’t you think? After all, would you discuss the weather or some other dull topic for an hour if it could be avoided?”

The ghost girl leaned over until her arms rested on the table, one crossed over the other.

“Good point. Have you had to do that?”

“Numerous times. Far too many than I’d care to admit,” he sighed, running a large hand over his hair.

Dani let out a little giggle. “I promise not to do that to you then.”

“Much appreciated,” he said, returning his eyes to her.

His hand, which had been trailing back behind his head, stopped when it reached his neck. He was looking, or rather, staring into Dani eyes. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Unable to break away from his gaze, Dani’s leg started to bounce, making it look like she had restless leg syndrome. She swallowed nervously and cleared her throat.

“So uh, about the space shuttle launch…”

“Yes! Yes, sorry kiddo, I became lost in my own thoughts for a moment. Go ahead, please.”

“O.K., but Mr. Masters, you can just call me Dani, if you want. My dad calls me ‘kiddo’ so it’s kinda weird hearing you say it,” she offered in a low voice, without any clue as to why she just said that.

_Didn’t I want to try to distance myself from him so I wouldn’t be so heartbroken later?_

“Of course, but if I may, I’d prefer to call you by your full name. Its much prettier and suits you better.”

“Uh, I guess,” Dani mumbled, looking away from him for a moment, now that she finally could.

A mischievous grin spread across his handsome face. “Or perhaps I could call you by your middle name, the one your mother told me about.”

“Danielle’s good!” she yelled as she flew back up, pressing her back flush against her seat.  

Vlad laughed so hard his shoulders bounced and he leaned down, grabbing his stomach. His laugh was genuine, organic. It actually warmed Dani’s heart a little, hearing it. With how sudden it was though, it was like he hadn’t laughed like that in a long time. The butterflies in her stomach intensified more than they had previously, knowing that she was the one who got him to laugh in such a way.   

“Do excuse me,” he chuckled after his brief fit.

“I-it’s fine,” Dani said, a little flustered.

“So, about that space shuttle…” he led.

“Oh yeah!”  

For half an hour the two talked about outer space, the Apollo Missions, all the different types of stars, and even the latest space shuttle model. The entire time, Vlad seemed so engaged, and offered commentary whenever it felt needed. There was never a dull moment as they conversed, never an awkward silence. In fact, Dani stopped feeling nervous after a while.

She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so comfortable with someone she wasn’t close to. It was almost as if they had known each other all our lives. And Dani could tell he was at ease too. His posture was very relaxed, with his shoulders down and hand gestures so fluid and natural. It was also in his features; his brow neutral and small smile playing at his lips. During their talk, Dani would catch him grinning from ear to ear every now and then. At one point, he leaned over and placed his elbows on the table, his chin resting on his intertwined fingers. His eyes staring, uninterrupted, at her, seemingly hanging on her ever word.

She found herself hoping that they could stay like that forever.

Then her ghost sense went off.

Dani gasped, and looked around the ballroom. Was that vampire creep back? Or was it those vulture ghosts? Her eyes scanned the area until she saw Jack, doing the pogo with Maddie. If she hadn’t been too concerned about the presence of a ghost nearby, she would probably cringe at the sight of her parents dancing so poorly.

_I mean seriously, who came up with that ludicrous move?_

“Is something wrong, my dear?” Vlad asked in concern.

“Nothing, nothing at all! It’s just, I uh, I need to go check on something. I think I may have left my cell phone in my room, and I **really** need it, oh not that I’m trying to be rude or anything, I really like talking to you, and I mean **really** like talking to you, but you know, as much as normal person would, n-not like I’m not normal or anything, but you know, its just---I’m expecting a call from…my doctor, yeah! A-and I have to go get my phone, so I’ll be right back!”

Before he could respond to her word vomit, the young heroine booked it out of the ballroom.

_Nice going Fenton, you just made yourself look ridiculous in front of your crush, and after you’d been doing so well too!_

She was fine. Totally. Nothing wrong at all.  

She ran into the foyer, saw the crowd, and snuck over to the stairs. She kneeled behind a standing floor plant, and then transformed.

Turning invisible, Dani flew around the first floor, and then phased through the ceiling into the second floor. She repeated this until she had gone through all four stories. No ghost in sight. She scratched her head. Maybe they left?

Then something occurred to her.

_What if he has a basement?_

Dani traveled down to the first floor again, and before anyone could see, she went intangible and flew through the floor.

When she come out the other side, the teenager saw a large room filled with tables and shelves of beakers, test tubes, books, and scraps of paper. Inside the test tubes were substances of varying colors, but most of them were green. On one of the tables was a square tumbler with translucent green liquid, and next to that was a picture frame. In front of her, however, was something that made her eyes bug out of her head.

A ghost portal.

_He has a ghost portal? Mr. Masters has a ghost portal??_

The teenager landed on her feet and walked over to the portal, examining it. She traced a white-gloved hand over it.

_Why would Mr. Masters have a ghost portal? He’s an entrepreneur, a business tycoon. What need would he have for a something like this?_

Dani turned around, observing the rest of the lab. Her ectoplasmic green eyes landed on the picture frame on the desk. Curious, she made her way over to it. The frame held a rectangular picture with part of it clearly missing. It depicted a young man with long black hair, and a woman with big, treated brown hair and purple eyes.

The girl furrowed her brow.

            “Hold on, that looks like mom…”

Suddenly a beam of green energy slammed into Dani. Shrieking, she hurled onto the floor just in front of the portal. Her right side felt like it was burning. Quickly, she turned her head and saw a figure stalking in the shadows. The lighting in the room reflected off the metal surface of the figures face, revealing a sly grin with square teeth.

“It’s never smart to let yourself become vulnerable when the hunter is near, pup.”

“Wait…Skulker?!”

The hunter in question emerged from the shadows, still wearing his signature grin. As he stalked over to Dani, he said: “At last, we can continue where we left off.”

Dani shot a ray of ghost energy in his direction, hitting him right in his tin-plated chest. Her attack sent him back into the shadows, hitting the wall. His fiery green mane illuminated his position on the floor.

“How did you get back into your exoskeleton? What are you doing here?” Dani prodded.

“All excellent questions. Catch!” A tiny black cube slid toward the teenager. Before she could make a move, it expanded around her, trapping her small form with only her head and neck exposed. Then the cube started to glow with a ghostly aura.

“Huh…hey! I can’t phase outta this! It’s disrupting my powers!”

“And that’s not all it does,” Skulker commented before pressing a button on his mechanical arm.

The cube shocked the heroine, sending ripples of electric charge throughout her body. She screamed as the cube danced, rocking her back and forth as more static pain assaulted her. Only when the attack ended did Dani stop screaming, feeling too weak to continue anyway. Her powers short circuited, and she changed back into her normal form. Her head hit the cool surface of the cube, not feeling any strength left in her neck to keep it up.

But in no time flat, Skulker lifted her head back up, and right before her eyes, he produced a rather sharp looking sword from his arm.

“Ah, uh, the glowing blade is new.”

“You like it? I’ve had some upgrades!” Skulker chirped. “Now…”

“Enough!”

Dani looked away from the blade at her throat to see Vlad standing at the foot of the stairs. His arms were behind his back, and his eyes looked cold.

“W-wait Mr. Masters---I mean, person I do not know! He’s too dangerous! He’s a ghost hunter who---”

“You will cease and desist, Skulker,” he stated in a warning tone.

“I don’t think so. **That** was not a part of the deal.”

“Deal? What deal?” the young heroine asked, looking from Vlad to Skulker. “And how do you know Skulker?”

“Forget it, you boorish fool. The deal is off.”

“Big mistake,” Skulker said, scowling. Then the ghost hunter shot a glowing blue net that encased Vlad, sending him flying and hitting the wall. It preceded to shock him, and he cried out.

“No! Let him go!” Dani demanded.

“I wouldn’t be to keen on rescuing him, if I were you. After all, it is **him** you have to thank for your current situation.”

“That’s a lie!” the young girl yelled, struggling to get free of her boxy prison.

“He set up this elaborate trap so that he could achieve his revenge on some lowly human he despises. And in return for my services, he promised me the pelt of the ghost girl,” he explained with a wide smirk.

The two of them heard a tearing sound, so they both turned their heads. The net that had trapped the billionaire laid on the ground in pieces. From his previous sitting position, Vlad rose into a predatory stance. His eyes looked fierce, even more so than before. His shoulders were hunched, his fists were clenched, and he was baring his teeth, mirroring a wolf that’s about to charge.

“You will regret attacking me, Skulker,” he declared.

Black rings appeared at his midsection, and suddenly his skin turned blue, his clothes changed into a white suit with a cape, his hair changed shape and went black, and fangs appeared in his mouth.  

“You! You’re the vampire ghost creep?!” Dani asked in utter shock, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Vlad Plasmius, thank you,” he corrected.

He launched himself at Skulker, who immediately tried to put up a guard. With a powerful punch, Skulker’s arm shattered, leaving wires and little sparks. Skulker reeled back, flipping backward in the air and hovering just feet behind the trapped teenager. Plasmius fired beams of fuchsia light from each hand, switching from one to the other. Skulker dodged the attacks with ease, and smirked. Plasmius growled, and flew after him, summoning an ectoplasmic rope. He tossed the rope in Skulker’s direction and was able to lasso him.

Skulker grunted and thrashed in the ropes hold. Then Plasmius yanked the rope toward him, but a tiny circular saw popped out of Skulker’s shoulder and preceded to sever it in half.

Plasmius threw the useless rope aside, and then flew up to Skulker with the devil’s speed. He landed a swift punch to Skulker’s face, creating a crack in between his eyes. Skulker roared, and grabbed Plasmius by the forearms. Two bazookas came out from of his back, and aimed right at the ghostly mogul, who scoffed.

“Oh please fool, do you really think your tricks will work on me?” he questioned with a cocky grin. 

“Thanks to the upgrades **you** installed, they will now.”

The guns charged up, slowly emitting a blue light from inside the barrels.

Dani watched helplessly. Even though she didn’t have the whole story, which she fully intended on getting later, Vlad was in trouble and she couldn’t do a blasted thing! He was going to get blasted into ecto-molecules while she was trapped in this stupid box!

_I thought I was doing a pretty good job at this superhero thing, but if I can’t even help the guy I like, then what business do I have calling myself one? I get caught in these traps all the time, I still don’t completely understand my powers, and I’m still desperately trying to get control of them! If I was actually any good as this hero stuff, I wouldn’t have ended up like this. If I wasn’t such an idiot, then Mr. Masters wouldn’t be in danger right now. He’s going to get killed, and its all my fault._

Suddenly, the guns powered down. Skulker looked over his shoulder in bewilderment.

“What the---?” “You seem to forget, since it was I who gave you these new upgrades, **I** have complete control of your interface,” he proclaimed, flipping his hand around and opening it, showing Skulker a small remote control. Plasmius pushed a red button with his thumb, causing Skulker to release Plasmius, who then hovered. He pushed the button again, and one of Skulker’s hands dislodged at the wrist, falling to the floor with a clang.

Skulker roared again and clenched his remaining fist. A square holster of missiles emerged from his arm, and they immediately fire. Plasmius floated in the same spot, unmoving. With a fake yawn, he pressed the button once again. The missiles sputtered, then fell to the ground.

Plasmius held the button down, and before Dani’s eyes, Skulker fell apart.

Literally.

The metal of his exoskeleton dislocated, with arms separating from shoulders, shoulders from collar, collar from neck. His head started to spin uncontrollably, and he let out a shriek. His legs fell apart as well, and the bazookas popped right off his back. All the pieces and parts hit the floor one at a time, filling the room with loud clangs and bangs.

Once Skulker was scattered all over the floor, Plasmius strode over to the now still head. He picked it up, turned it upside down, and reached in, pulling out the little green blob.

“This isn’t over, Plasmius!” he croaked.

“If you value your afterlife, it most certainly is.”

Plasmius then made his way to the portal. After fiddling with the control panel, the doors opened, revealing the spiraling green aura of The Ghost Zone.

“Know that if you attempt to hunt young Danielle again,” he began, and then tossed Skulker into the otherworldly plane. “then you will have to face my wrath once more!”

The ghost portal closed, and the green light that it had cast into the room disappeared.

Plasmius, without looking at Dani, sighed.

“I suppose I have much explaining to do.”

“Ya got that right!” she stated with a scowl.

 

**************

 

Vlad was worried when this might happen. As he had no intention of parting ways with Dani, it was only a matter to time before she learned the truth. He also had no plans of keeping his identity a secret forever, but he hoped that it wouldn’t be revealed so suddenly. To maintain the illusion that he was a normal man, an ordinary corporate billionaire with no ghost powers, he would have feigned ignorance of all things paranormal, even go so far so to lie about his situation with Jack, until the time was right.

But that chance had slipped away. If he hadn’t exposed himself, Dani would have been in serious trouble. Skulker would have taken her away from him… **permanently**.

But for a moment, it was as if he truly was an ordinary man. Back in the ballroom, as he and Danielle spoke, Vlad forgot about his powers, his Ghost Zone intrigues, even his hatred for Jack, and his prior longing for Maddie. Dani was able to distract him, engage him, keep him riveted, long enough for Vlad to forget it all.

 _Of course, it wasn’t too hard for her. She probably had no idea she could captivate me so; with her stunning dress and her darling smile, she kept me in her thrall for at least 30 minutes. However, it wasn’t just her attire and charming features that kept me enraptured. When she spoke about being an astronaut, as well as other subjects relating to outer space, she practically beamed. It delighted me so, seeing her face light up as she talked about her passions, her dreams. It moved me to aid her in her pursuits; to give her the world if it would help her achieve those dreams_.

He wanted nothing more than to listen to her forever. He wanted to listen to her dulcet voice as she described the things she loved, the things she hated, her hobbies, her friends, her enemies, her school life, her home life; all of it.

_But reality had to knock on my front door._

Now she knew; knew everything. She knew that he was the one who was out to waste her father. She knew he was the one who sent the vultures. She knew he was the one who taunted her last night.

He turned to her.

She was glaring at him.

He couldn’t blame her.

Vlad drifted over to her, and as soon as he reached the opposite side of the device, he pushed the “open” button, deactivating it.

When it was but a mere cube again, Dani kicked it off to the side. Then she looked up at the billionaire, brow still furrowed.

“O.K., first of all, what is that thing?”

“A spectral energy neutralizer. Designed by Skulker and payed for by me,” Vlad explained bluntly.  

She nodded. “So, that leads me to my next question, why did you make a deal with Skulker? Was it really all to hurt dad? Why do you want to waste him, anyway?”

“That’s three questions, Danielle.”

“Oh whatever! Just tell me,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

“It’s a rather long story, little badger.”

“Then tell it. We got all night.”

Vlad sighed again. “Very well.” He touched the floor. “But first, let me ask you this: how did you get your ghost powers?”

Dani raised an eyebrow, but after a moment, relaxed. Her scowl vanished, and she unfolded her arms.

“My parents were working on their own ghost portal. They couldn’t get it to work, so they left the lab in a sulk. I thought I should check it out, so I went inside. I guess I must’ve pressed the right button or something because it turned on, and I was blasted by spectral energy. The next thing I knew, I looked like a ghost and I had all the powers of one.”

_So, she was also a victim of Jack’s imprudence, just as I had figured._

Vlad felt a sudden urge to take the poor girl into his arms again and never let go. Her fate was indeed similar to his, although, her transformation sounded spontaneous; not quite like his own.

“Did you get yours the same way?” the young girl asked, indicating to Vlad’s ghost portal with her thumb.

“No. I wasn’t so lucky as to have an instantaneous metamorphosis,” the billionaire stated, looking deep into Danielle’s azure orbs. “During our senior year, Jack, Maddie, and myself were actively involved in our school’s chemical engineering department. Jack desired to use his knowledge of engineering and science to learn about the world of ghosts; where they came from, what powers they possessed, why they invaded our dimension and did what they did, etc. Maddie was also quite enthusiastic, and I was willing to humor them both. Soon enough, we had created a proto-portal, but Jack had made an egregious error. When he flipped the switch, the portal blasted me with Ghost Zone energy, infecting me with ecto-acne. The end result was 10 years in the hospital and raging ghost powers.”

Danielle’s eyes widened in shock, her jaw dropped slightly, and her eyebrows rised. After a few seconds, she blinked rapidly, addressing Vlad once more.

“Wow…that sounds awful. I’m sorry you had to go through that. My change was pretty quick, so I didn’t suffer, not like that…” she said, and then looked at the floor.   

Vlad frowned, exhaling through his nose.

“Danielle…”

She looked up again.

“That blows, and I can’t even **begin** to imagine just how terrible that whole thing must have been for you, but you shouldn’t blame my dad. He thinks the world of you. He wouldn’t stop talking about you on the way over. I mean he also talked about ghosts a lot too, but that’s not the point! He still thinks of you as a dear friend, and I know that if you asked him about it, he would say he was sorry about the whole thing.”

The eccentric businessman looked away from her.

“Danielle, its not just that. True, I detest your father after what he put me through, but what I truly hate him for…what I truly hated him for was robbing me my chances with Maddie,” he explained, and then turned back to Danielle again. “Your mother.”

Her face morphed into a somewhat disgruntled visage. Once again, she blinked numerous times in rapid succession.

“But I no longer desire Maddie. If I am to be perfectly honest, shortly after you and your family arrived, I lost all interest in your mother in the romantic sense. I realize now, after all those years of pining and plotting, that there are more important things, presently, that I should be devoting my time to,” He articulated as he leaned marginally closer to her, focusing intently on those azure eyes that he was becoming so found of.

“So that’s why you stopped Skulker, ‘cause you didn’t see the point in that deal you made anymore.”

“Precisely,” Vlad said, smiling.

“But, you **do** still hate my dad, right?”

“I see him as an overgrown buffoon who couldn’t fix a flat tire if you shoved the instructions in front of his face.”

“So, ya hate him,” Dani reiterated.

“Its not easy for me to get over a grudge.”

“But you don’t have a reason to hate him anymore. You just said you’ve gotten over mom, so why stay angry?”

“Like I said, it’s difficult for me to let it go. Think about it: if you hated someone for 20 years, do you really think you could get over it instantly? Besides, Jack’s a bumbling, inept, fool. And if there’s one thing I loathe in people, its foolishness, which he has in abundance.

“But his heart is always in the right place! Sure, he can be a bit of a goof sometimes…most of time…but he always takes care of those he cares about! He means well! Couldn’t you see the joy in his face when he saw you? Didn’t you notice how he looked for you in the ballroom just before we talked? Every other sentence he would look over his shoulder and ask; ‘has anyone seen Vladdie?’ or ‘gee, I wonder where V-man got off to’. Even after all these years, he still cares about you.”

Vlad swallowed. This was not where he wanted this conversation to go.

_Naturally Danielle would stick up for her father, but despite the fact I don’t feel drawn to Maddie anymore, I don’t think I could ever forgive Jack for his idiocy. It would be no different than if he were a mere stranger; nitwits are still nitwits, and they’re all a waste of my time._

However, if Vlad wished for Dani to remain at his side, then it would benefit him greatly to feign civility with the imbecile. It’ll burn, it’ll sting, it’ll surely cost him countless braincells, but if it meant her heart, Vlad would endure very second.

“I have to admit though, I’m still a bit annoyed that you were gonna trade my pelt---ew---for a chance to off dad. **And** that you beat the snot outta me last night,” she said, rocking back and forth on her silver heels.

“In my defense, in both instances, I had no idea it was you, Danielle. If was privy to such knowledge, I would never have done those things.”

She giggled. “Yeah, I suppose not.”

Vlad leaned away and offered a friendly smile. “Well, I think it’s high time we return to the party. No doubt your parents are wondering where you are by now,” he stated, transforming back.

“Oh yeah! We’d better get back,” she agreed.

The billionaire started his ascent up the stairs with the young heroine trailing behind, when a sudden thought invaded his mind.

 _After tonight, it may be a long time before I can see her again. We live a good distance apart, and yes, with our ghost powers we could easily travel back and forth, but somehow this isn’t good enough_.

His heart ached knowing that he would be so far away from her. Perhaps he could purchase a house in Amity Park? It was not as if he couldn’t afford one. And it would be no trouble at all switching his billing address as well as transferring his assets. He’d also have to alert the company’s board of his move from Wisconsin, but once again, that wouldn’t be a problem.  

Suddenly he heard Dani yelp.

Vlad whipped around to see her legs and skirt phasing through the stairway, with a startled look on her face.

“Uh Mr. Masters, could I get some help please?” she asked in a panicked tone.  

Vlad hastily grabbed both her arms and pulled her into his own. Though the embrace wasn’t intentional, his discretion eliminated any respect for boundaries that he may have once had. Discreetly, he held the teenager tighter, pressing her flush against his body. Her hands sat atop Vlad’s chest, each one balled into loose fists. His heart pounded at the contact, overwhelmed by his growing affection for her, and his desire to know everything about her.

“Th-thanks…Mr. Masters…”

“Vlad.” he purred.

“Huh?”

“Call me Vlad,” he emphasized in a near whisper.

When he didn’t hear a response, Vlad loosened his grip enough to get a good look at the young girl. Dani’s feminine features were bathed in red, reminding him of a well steamed lobster. Her eyes were wide and looking at her hands.

_Oh, how I wish she were looking at me!_

Although, seeing her flustered **was** a pleasant alternative for him. Despite how badly Vlad wished to see more of her like this, however, even he could admit that it was much too soon for that.

The billionaire released her and offered another friendly smile.

“Say, little badger, how would you like some help with those powers of yours?”

“What?” she asked, clearly still in a daze from their earlier intimacy.

“You’re desperately trying to get control of them, but it must be difficult, what with your adolescent trials and tribulations. I have experience, 20 years of it, you see. I could train you, teach you everything I know. Oh, just think of it, Danielle; the things I could show you. The doors I could open for you! You, Dani Phantom and I, Vlad Plasmius. Together, we would accomplish great things.”

“Wait, are you serious? Like, **really** serious? ‘Cause that would be beyond awesome!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

“But of course, my dear. It would be my pleasure.”

“I can’t believe it. I can finally learn how to control them, finally learn how to properly use my powers!” she said to herself. “Hey, do you think you can show me how to do that multiplying thing you did? When you created three other versions of yourself??” she asked enthusiastically.

Vlad chuckled. “Of course, but it will take some time for you to master it.”

“I can’t wait! This is so, so awesome, you have no idea!”

“Oh I don’t know, I think I have a pretty good idea,” Vlad stated after he turned from her, smirking to himself. Clasping his arms behind his back, he trekked back up the stairs with Dani skipping after him.


End file.
